The Money Pit

As long as we're this close to a holiday involving green beer and drinking to excess as its theme, I thought it would be fun to look at one of Illinois' next-door neighbors. This neighbor has quite the reputation for elbow-bending, and as it turns out, that reputation is well-earned.

Illinois' Cannabis Use Tax ensures that when someone buys marijuana legally in the state, local communities get a piece of the action in the form of dollars flowing into a city's coffers. Here's how much individual cities and towns in Illinois received from Illinois' weed tax in fiscal year 2024, which just ended on June 30th.

The way things have been going lately, it might be easier to write about restaurant and retail store chains that aren't thinking about bankruptcy or shutting down multiple stores. We've had a lot of announcements this year, and they don't seem to be slowing down.

These creepy little things are in Illinois, spreading rapidly, and carrying a nasty bacteria than can make you become allergic to meat and dairy products...or worse.

Think about it. You've probably shopped at an Illinois Aldi store at least a few times in your life. Do you remember hearing any music in the store? Here's why you won't.

For as long as there have been vehicles, there have been vehicles stolen. Rates of car theft go up, they go down, but they never go away. Let's take a look at what vehicles car thieves in Illinois prefer stealing over all the others out there.

According to reports late last week, the current wave of restaurant bankruptcies doesn't look like it's reached it's peak and is slowing down. Now, a Seattle-based pizza chain is said to be considering filing for bankruptcy protection, and that may have an effect on their Illinois locations.

These little plant munchers start to show up in southern Illinois in early June, and then continue on to central and northern Illinois in early July. That means that by this point, our entire state is getting blitzed by Japanese beetles. Here are some things that maybe you didn't know about them, including how long they live and what you can do to get rid of them.

It's just not summertime in Rockford if we don't spend a couple of days eating brats and listening to music to help out some great causes, and for over 50 years that's exactly what we've done. Ready to do it again? Me, too.

In Illinois, we've witnessed several store and restaurant chains close multiple locations this year, and, based on a recent announcement, the people with the neon cowboy hat who always make sure you know who has the meat, may be shutting down several Illinois locations in the near future.