Local

ROCKFORD -- The owner of the blighted Essex Wire property on the northwest side has made a $109,000 payment to the City of Rockford. The payment is a court-ordered installment, part of a Dec. 12, 2018 sanction against Paul Bennett, the…

ROCKFORD -- The coroner's office says nearly 3,000 people in Winnebago County died within the last year. 45 of them were part of the area's homeless population. That's according to Carpenter's Place, a non-profit homeless shelter in…

ROCKFORD -- Plans to demolish the former chancery building next to Cathedral of St. Peter were halted Thursday, as city officials denied the Catholic Diocese of Rockford a permit to tear it down. The news comes after a group aimed at…

ROCKFORD -- Rockford-area police agencies are investigating bomb threats at various businesses. The Rockford Catholic Diocese received a threat at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The building was quickly evacuated and and police searched the…

ROCKFORD -- The hotly contested $1.7 million host-fee subsidy to help Costco open in Loves Park was approved by the Winnebago County Board Thursday. The board voted 12-7 to approve the funding. David Boomer, R-4, abstained. The previous…

ROCKFORD -- The owner of the dilapidated Essex Wire property on North Main Street, on Wednesday, was ordered to pay a total of $216,000 in fines or possibly face jail time. Judge Lisa Fabiano ordered Paul Bennett of A.W. Enterprises to…

GURNEE, Ill.--  Six Flags Great America has received the last vote from the Rock Valley College approving the final of 11 real estate tax abatements on the Magic Waters property. Six Flags Great America now has the necessary approvals to…

ROCKFORD -- The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office says the body found outside of the city Monday is suspicious. Sheriff's spokesmen say the body was discovered at around 1:15 p.m. in the 9200 block of Knapp Road. Officials say body…

ROCKFORD - The City of Rockford Legal Department, on Tuesday,began the demolition process at the heavily blighted New Fellowship Baptist Church at 814 Second Ave. by posting a 30-day notice as required by Illinois statute. In addition to…

ROCKFORD - The Alpine Dam may soon see repairs after the Rockford City Council took the first step Monday to repair the 76-year-old structure. The dam is at Rueben Aldeen Park has become a landmark of sorts, a place where local high…

ROCKFORD - The Rockford Police Department scored high marks during an audit as the only police department in Illinois that submits National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data to the FBI. The data goes much deeper than…

ROCKFORD - Joe Marino, the man known as "Mr. Fourth of July," has died at the age of 92, his family announced Wednesday. The son of Italian immigrants, Marino was born on Sept. 27, 1926, in Rockford. He served in World War II and…

ROCKFORD - The Winnebago County Board made an about face Tuesday night when it voted Marilyn Hite Ross interim state's attorney. Judge Rosemary Collins was expected to be named Joe Bruscato's successor, however, that recommendation was…

ROCKFORD - City of Rockford aldermen on Monday passed the $156.8 million general-fund budget for 2019. The budget includes a utility tax on natural gas and electricity, the levy that was added to the 2018 spending plan after home rule…

ROCKFORD - A former Rockford priest at the center of chilling allegations and a 2006 lawsuit appears on a list of 15 priests accused of sexual abuse. Theodore "Ted" Feely, who Rockford resident Donald Bondick claimed in a five-count…