Riley O'Neil

Riley O'Neil has logged more hours behind a microphone than any other Rockford radio personality, starting out with his hiring at WROK in February of 1983. He’s also the longest-tenured morning show host in WROK's 100-year history, with 22 years as the host of the WROK Morning Show. He’s a multi award-winning commercial producer, voice-over artist, and much sought after product and service endorser for multiple local businesses. In addition to hosting the WROK Morning Show with Joe Dredge, Riley also writes for 1440WROK.com, covering everything from Illinois' best local restaurants, to some of the wildest and funniest things Illinois residents have gotten themselves into, and everything in-between.

Trick-Or-Treating In Northern Illinois: Here Are The Area’s Hours

There's been a good argument going on for several years over the idea of making Halloween the last Saturday of October, rather than our traditional way of celebrating on October 31st. As you may have noticed, there's been no agreement yet, so let's just get you the hours that cities and towns in Northern Illinois have set aside for trick-or-treating for Halloween 2024.

Halloween In Illinois: Is This Our State’s Most Haunted House?

Sure, there are lot and lots of "haunted houses" throughout the state of Illinois that are put together and decorated for spooky Halloween fun and charge admission, but what we're talking about here is a haunted house that's not only spooky during Halloween season, but all year long because...it's really haunted (according to those who know these things).

It’s Not “Windchill” In Illinois Anymore: Here’s The New Name

Well, regardless of the new name for windchill, it's still the same thing: how much colder the wind makes the actual temperature feel like to human skin. I've always though "windchill" was a great description of what weather feels like when you add in some cold, gusty winds, but it's pretty clear that the people who give names to weather phenomenons don't much care what I think.

Here’s When Illinois Fall Colors Will Be Best, Say The Experts

One of the biggest joys we get living in this part of the country is knowing that we'll get a spectacular show of colored leaves (most years) before we spend several months with snow shovels and scrapers in our frigid hands. The question always is "when is the absolute best time to get out and enjoy it?" Here's what the leaf experts think.

Fall In Illinois: Here’s When To Take Down Hummingbird Feeders

I've always heard that you have to take down hummingbird feeders at the right time or the hummingbirds will stay too long and end up freezing to death in Illinois' frigid weather. Let's take a look to see if that's true or not.

Illinois Skunks Are Going To Be Very Active Over The Next Month

Over the next 30 days or so, you and your pets are more likely to get a blast of spray from a skunk that at any other time of the year in Illinois. Here's why Illinois' skunks are going to be out and around...and possibly kind of cranky.

Illinois’ 1st Snowfall Will Probably Happen On This Date

It may seem like winter-like conditions are still pretty far away, but I should remind you that in some years, we've already had our first snowfall in Northern Illinois by now. Well, it hasn't snowed yet...but here's when it more than likely will snow for the first time this season.

Illinois Grocery Tax: Here’s What Cities And Towns Are Paying Now

Illinois' one-percent state grocery tax is set to phase out in January of 2026, which should save all of us some money. How much money? Let's take a look at what some individual cities and towns in Illinois are currently paying out in grocery taxes right now, and hope that Illinois cities don't decide to impose their own grocery taxes like two cities have already done.

Are These Spots Really Illinois’ Most Unpronounceable Places?

Even those of us who've always lived in Illinois have trouble pronouncing a bunch of city and town names in our own state. Take a look at the list and see if you've ever had trouble getting these names out.

Illinois Bugs: These Are The Ones Trying To Get Inside Your House

When Illinois' weather starts to turn colder at this point in the fall, there are lots of bugs that have one objective: to get inside your home to ride out the bitter cold conditions that Illinois gets every single year. Let's take a look at which ones are planning a home invasion.