Local Headlines

OTTAWA – Widespread flu activity has taken over 45 states including Illinois, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Illinois, the department of public health reported over 30 ICU admissions for the last week of January and two pediatric deaths for the season total.

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Police say crime dropped dramatically in January to levels not seen in years. In a Friday news release, the department says January ended with 20 homicides — half as many as January 2018 and the lowest January total in 9 years. The number of shooting incidents — 100

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois dispensaries have begun to process applications for medical marijuana through a state pilot program that offers patients access to the drug as an alternative to opioids.  Enrollment in the state’s Opioid Alternative Pilot Program began Thursday. The

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — A Rockford Police Department commander has been identified as the off-duty officer who fired a gun during a traffic altercation Jan. 20. The Rockford Register-Star reports 20-year veteran and Assistant Deputy Chief Carla Redd was parked in a personal car and waiting for

CHICAGO (AP) — The Illinois Department of Public Health says at least 144 people made hospital emergency-room visits and one person has died due to cold-related injuries since Tuesday. Department spokesman Melaney Arnold said Thursday that there were at least 65 visits in Chicago and at least

OTTAWA – Local unemployment rates rank amongst the highest in the state, according to the Illinois Department of Unemployment. Bureau, Putnam, LaSalle and Marshall county range in the highest unemployment rates locally. Currently, LaSalle’s unemployment rate is at 7.2 percent, a

EARLVILLE – A Tuesday afternoon collision between a car and a train in Northern LaSalle County damaged a car, but no injuries were reported. According to the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office, 22-year-old Kristina M. Morsovillo of Earlville was driving north on East 10th Road when she

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — More than 20 passengers aboard a Chicago-bound charter bus were rescued after the bus broke down in subzero temperatures on Interstate 55 near Springfield. Illinois State Police responded early Wednesday after learning of the disabled bus and its 21 passengers,

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Business advocates now resigned to the likelihood that Illinois will soon adopt a $15-an-hour minimum wage urged legislators Wednesday to make it a tiered approach based on geography, arguing there are vast cost-of-living differences between Chicago and more rural areas

MENDOTA – Even with temperatures approaching record lows in Illinois, the job of law enforcement continues.  WGLC Radio’s Charles Van Horn spent Wednesday night with the Mendota Police Department to experience what it is like to help the community on the coldest night of the year.