Rockford Register Star
Dubai’s safe-haven status put to the test
DUBAI – For decades, Dubai’s sales pitch featured gleaming skylines, taxfree salaries, ease of doing business and something far more intangible: the unspoken promise that whatever was happening elsewhere in the Middle East, this city was different. The...
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UNDERSEA DIPLOMACY
Oceans shape everyday life in powerful ways. They cover 70% of the planet, carry 90% of global trade, and support millions of jobs and the diets of billions of people. As global competition intensifies and climate change accelerates, the world’s oceans...
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Ads about ICE hit TV screens
The television portrayals couldn’t be more different. One recent TV ad that aired on MS NOW and CNN featured images from the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis, along with news footage of people being...
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Experts warn about role social media has played
WASHINGTON – Most of this story isn’t fit for a family newspaper. The country’s political discourse has deteriorated to the point – or become so robust – that the president can drop an f-bomb and get one lobbed back in return. Of course, caustic...
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Doctors weigh in on the measles vaccine
MILWAUKEE – After a quarter century in which the United States was considered free of endemic measles, it’s back. As of Feb. 19, 982 confirmed measles cases have been reported in the country in 2026, according to the latest data from the Centers for...
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Rockford to host women’s baseball world tournaments in 2026-2027
Rockford will host the World Baseball Softball Confederation Women’s Baseball World Cup Finals in July 2027, according to a community announcement. The event will take place July 19-25 at Rivets Stadium in Loves Park. Rockford also will host the...
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Former ICE lawyer testifies to Congress
ICE supervisors are teaching “new cadets to violate the Constitution” amid President Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations, a former agency lawyer testified to members of Congress. “The ICE academy is deficient, defective, and broken,” former...
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ROCKFORD ATHLETE COMPETES IN 2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
Rockford’s Cameron Smith competed at the Milan-Cortina Olympics in a sport that made its debut: ski mountaineering, also called “skimo.” Smith took part in two events. He placed fourth in the mixed relay, competing with Anna Gibson. He placed eleventh...
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Detainee’s mother is Schumer’s SOTU guest
NEW YORK − A Bronx mother whose eldest son was one of the first New York City students detained by federal immigration agents is Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s personal guest to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union, USA TODAY...
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“Nobody’s talking about ever going back to the prices that we had kind of been more accustomed to prior to that inflationary surge.”
Inflation ticked down to 2.4%, the unemployment rate fell and U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whose reports economists view as the “gold standard” of data. On paper, the economy appears to be...
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Six new Golden Apple teachers announced
innebago County celebrated six new Golden Apple Teacher Award winners on Feb. 19, 2026, as the Golden Apple Foundation of Rockford traveled across the county surprising teachers in their classrooms. For full coverage, see Local & State, C1.
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‘He’s going to be himself again’
NASHVILLE – Phil Vassar’s heart stopped beating. His eyes rolled back. His skin turned blue. Doctors told him he died. Twice. The odds of the Nashville singersongwriter and pianist surviving a 2023 “widow-maker” heart attack, a complete blockage to...
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Rockford alderman proposes new rules to save historic buildings
ROCKFORD — Ald. Mark Bonne plans to introduce a two-pronged ordinance that would require Rockford Historic Preservation Commission or City Council approval before issuing a demolition permit for historic but undesignated buildings and before seeking...
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Civil rights icon ‘kept the dream alive’
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering civil rights icon who battled alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., negotiated global hostage releases and shamed corporations for their lack of diversity and failure to support voting rights, died on Feb. 17. He...
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USA WOMEN GO FOR GOLD
The women’s ice hockey team will play for the gold medal Thursday after defeating Sweden 5-0 Monday at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The team has three players from Illinois: Tessa Janecke of Warren, seen above in the Sweden game, Abbey...
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IL GOP Senate candidates debate Trump and tariffs
SPRINGFIELD – If the Democratic primary to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has been the main event in Illinois politics over the past year, the Republican contest has largely played the undercard. But, at least for one night, the race finally...
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IL woman convicted of murder scheme tells all
APekin woman convicted of trying to solicit the murder of her husband said in a “Dateline NBC” interview that she never wanted to hurt him or anyone else, accusing a former boyfriend of trying to manipulate her before she was arrested last year. In the...
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Juvenile detention center will expand
Winnebago County is planning a $1.7 million expansion of the Juvenile Detention Center to add a mental health suite to the 48-bed facility. Paid for with a $1 million grant from the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board and $750,000 secured...
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Report: U.S. inflation ticked down in January
Inflation cooled a bit more than forecasters expected in January, with prices rising 2.4% from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Feb. 13. The report, which was delayed two days because of a brief government shutdown, revealed that inflation...
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Rockford teachers union authorizes intent to strike
Rockford teachers have not filed a 10day intent to strike notice. Not yet, anyway. Whether that changes could depend on how things go at the union’s next bargaining session Feb. 12 with Rockford Public Schools officials. Encouraged by progress made at...
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TESSA JANECKE PLAYING HARD FOR TEAM USA IN ITALY
Rockford favorite Tessa Janecke (22) of Team USA goes up against goalie Ronja Savolainen of Team Finland during the Women’s Preliminary Round Group A match between Finland and United States on Feb. 7, the first day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter...
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Illinois’ 2026 Winter Games connection
Team USA is composed of 232 athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics taking place until Feb. 22 in Milano and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. h That roster includes 98 returning Olympians who have collected 18 gold medals. At least 11 of the athletes have ties...
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Experts: TrumpRx has limited reach at launch
President Donald Trump’s new prescription drug website, TrumpRx.gov, is focused largely on the significant discounts the administration has negotiated for users of the popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, limiting its savings for all consumers, experts...
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Social media reshaping research on substance use
When you think of tools for studying substance use and addiction, a social media site like Reddit, TikTok or YouTube probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet the stories shared on social media platforms are offering unprecedented insights...
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‘UNVEIL THE FUTURE’
Hard Rock Casino Rockford is plotting a potentially massive expansion as a new competitor looms across the Wisconsin border. Planning what that expansion will entail with designers and contractors in addition to Rockford, Winnebago County and Illinois...
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MAGA vs. Bad Bunny splits Super Bowl
Sen. Tommy Tuberville was thrilled to attend the Super Bowl in 2025 when he hitched a ride on Air Force One, joining President Donald Trump and several other Republican lawmakers for the big game. “Happy Super Bowl Sunday,” the Republican senator for...
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Trump attacking pillars of democracy, group says
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has attacked key pillars of U.S. democracy, Human Rights Watch warned on Feb. 4 in its annual report, citing the Republican president’s immigration crackdown, threats to voting rights and other policies. Human...
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Pedestrian deaths by trains persisting
In 2018, high-speed passenger trains branded as Brightline started running along the formerly freight-only Florida East Coast Railway. Initial service from Miami to West Palm Beach was extended to Orlando in 2023. h Unfortunately, the southern end of...
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“Designation standards in this bill are extraordinarily broad and vague. That kind of ambiguity gives the state sweeping discretion and risk capturing lawful advocacy organizations and chilling constitutionally protected activity.”
Florida is considering creating a definition for “domestic terrorist organization,” but critics of the move say its vague language may limit lawful speech by advocacy organizations and student groups. A bill now before the Florida Legislature is one...
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‘It’s their pathway’
Future nurses, medical technicians, scientists, nutritionists, graphic designers, gourmet chefs, media producers and more are getting hands-on experience in high school at The Quad. The roughly $19 million Rockford Public Schools career education...
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The force behind Jamboree
For nearly 14 years, Larry Ubben has worked tirelessly year-round to bring live music to Mount Morris and the surrounding communities every summer. h The Mount Morris Jamboree was born in 2012 when Ubben had an idea to expand on what was, at the time,...
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Former Winnebago County Board chairman dies at 72
A longtime public servant known for his “get ‘er done” attitude and who led the Winnebago County Board for 12 years has died at age 72. Former Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen was first elected to county government in 1984. After...
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Deportations from ICE street arrests increase
The Trump administration dramatically increased deportations by arresting migrants on American streets, often without criminal records, according to a new report. The Deportation Data Project’s report, released on Jan. 27, shows the sweeping effects...
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Consumer-driven future seen for GLP-1 drugs
LONDON – Ask executives in the health care industry about the future market for weight-loss drugs and the analogies are telling: monthly GLP-1 medicine subscriptions like a streaming video membership; dose decisions managed on a smartphone app; access...
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‘It’s morally wrong, and it’s unlawful’
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ oncesleepy Democratic primary for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat heated up Jan. 26 as the three leading contenders used their first live debate to cast themselves as the strongest bulwark against President Donald Trump and his...
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‘This is about what’s best for students’
Rockford Public School teachers Jan. 24 voted “overwhelmingly” to authorize a strike amid a continuing labor dispute with the district. h The vote does not automatically trigger a strike. It authorizes leaders of the Rockford Education Association —...
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ICE, Border Patrol work together more often now
The ongoing immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota involves mainly two branches of the Department of Homeland Security: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. ICE is tasked with enforcing the nation’s...
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‘She has always done a great job’
Christina Kuberski took over as president of Highland Community College in the midst of one of the most challenging times in our country’s history: the COVID-19 pandemic. But Kuberski didn’t let that inhibit her from working towards a better future...
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‘Destination driver’
BELOIT, WI — More than 200 construction workers a day are laboring this winter to bring a 240,478-squarefoot casino to life just 17 miles north of the Hard Rock Casino Rockford. Ho-Chunk Nation Government Relations Officer Ryan Greendeer said that...
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U.S. faces ‘human rights emergency,’ group says
One year into the second Trump administration, the United States has quickly eroded human rights safeguards, according to Amnesty International. The nonprofit released a report Jan. 20, the anniversary of President Donald Trump retaking office, saying...
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Rockford teachers march for better pay, conditions
With talks for a new labor agreement between Rockford Public Schools and its teachers at a standstill, dozens of teachers rallied at the Jan. 20 school board meeting. The rally comes a day before they return to the bargaining table for the first time...
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‘VERY DISAPPOINTING’
CHICAGO – In Chicago’s workingclass Pilsen neighborhood, a 1960s-era oil-fired power plant rises up from an industrial lot behind Dvorak Park, which in warmer weather is packed with children climbing on its colorful playground and zooming down...
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Rail industry dirtier than coal plants
BNSF Railway, one of the crown jewels of Warren Buffett’s sprawling Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, calls itself an environmental leader in the U.S. rail industry with the cleanest locomotive fleet in North America. “When you see our orange...
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Polar vortex cold air to return in late January
The polar vortex once again has been funneling bitterly cold air south from Canada and more looks to be on its way during the last week of January, forecasters say. “This first shot of cold air [Jan. 1718] looks to be the appetizer, with the main...
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GAMBLING BOOM
ROCKFORD — Casino gambling continued to be big business in Illinois in 2025 as new casinos had a full year of operations and Hard Rock Casino Rockford moved into a far larger location, according to the latest reports from the Illinois Gaming...
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MN protesters walk tightrope on rights
Protesters who want to speak out about the fatal shooting of Renee Good face a barrage of conflicting directives from authorities. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz encouraged protesters to record federal immigration authorities: “Help us establish a record of...
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AN EAGLE EYE VIEW
Bald eagle spotting season is here, and Illinois is rolling out the welcome mat with a series of eagle-watching events across the state, according to a community announcement. From now through March, families, birders and nature lovers can catch a...
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MN, IL sue over ICE deployments
Fallout continued Jan. 13 from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Midwest, with lawsuits, reported resignations, the end of protected status for some foreign nationals and the threat of denaturalization. Minnesota and Illinois,...
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‘We stand in solidarity’
Days after Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, hundreds of Rockford-area residents gathered in protest in downtown Rockford. In the 400 block of East State Street about 150 people carried...
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SALARY STUDY
The city’s next superintendent will be paid an eyebrow-raising $285,000 annual salary that dwarfs the pay of the out-going superintendent and is the most the district has paid for a leader. Indiana educator Larry Huff has reached an agreement for the...
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Trump holds rally, Dems issue warning on Jan. 6
WASHINGTON – Five years after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Democrats in Congress accused Republicans of a “whitewash” of history while President Donald Trump delivered an upbeat speech to Republican lawmakers that made little mention...
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News Tower Lofts project seeks loan
The Rockford City Council is considering a package of proposed financial incentives including a $4 million forgivable loan for Urban Equity Properties’ estimated $45.6 million redevelopment of the former Rockford Register Star News Tower, 99 E. State...
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What Trump’s arrest of Maduro tells us
As it turns out, the “America First” slogan didn’t mean President Donald Trump would stop the United States from intervening around the world. The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on Jan. 3 and his pending arraignment in New...
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POWER PAIRING
Kenneth Wolf, 10, is a hilarious, sharp and fun-loving kid who is smart enough to listen — and hustle — when his big sister Abigail, 15, starts giving orders in the kitchen. h For one thing, Kenneth seems to know what’s good for him. And, for another,...
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Mamdani promises new era for NYC
Eduardo Cuevas, Rebecca Morin, Dan Morrison, Trevor Hughes and Mike Snider New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Jan. 1 inauguration and block party reflected a diverse city looking to make good on the 34-year-old democratic socialist’s promises to...
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Arizona traffic stops lead to deportations
On a heavily patrolled stretch of Interstate 10 south of Phoenix, people pulled over for having a cracked windshield or an object dangling from their rear view mirror have ended up in deportation proceedings. The stated goal of the traffic stops is to...
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Big events on calendar for 2026
As a new year dawns, many Americans are reflecting on 2025, a year marked by historic events including the inauguration of a president, the appointment of the first American pope, and major pop culture moments like the release of “Wicked: For Good” and...
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AI to review Medicare claims in pilot program
A new Medicare program that uses artificial intelligence to review medical claims is set to launch in six states. Critics worry it will lead to patients being denied necessary care and more red tape for providers. The controversial new six-year pilot...
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Over 1M students homeless in U.S.
WASHINGTON – After T’Roya Jackson discovered the paint in her apartment gave her daughter lead poisoning, she and her children moved out. They couch-surfed for a while before moving into a homeless shelter over the summer. The hair stylist began...
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Regenerative farming making a comeback
At Troon Vineyard, in southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley, Garett Long has turned composting into an art form, using it to support soil microbes and eliminate the need for petroleum-based fertilizers. h When Andrea Malmberg and her husband, Tony, bought...
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‘DEEP CONNECTION’
The places Indigenous peoples call home have intertwined with their ways of life for millennia. Their stories, foodways and cultures relate directly to their homelands. Lands, waters, plants and animals, the creatures that inhabit the waters below and...
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‘Help’s farther away’
In the 1960s, doctors believed heart muscle died instantly during a heart attack, like throwing a light switch, according to the American Heart Association. Dr. Eugene Braunwald’s research proposed a heart attack was more like a dimmer – the damage...
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Spotify hits marketing sweet spot
Even before the 2025 Spotify Wrapped dropped, I had a hunch what mine would reveal. Lo and behold, one of my most-listened-to songs was an obscure 2004 track titled “Rusty Chevrolet” by the Irish band Shanneyganock. I heard it first thanks to my son,...
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Federal agents pull back in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO – President Donald Trump vowed this year to flood San Francisco with federal agents – and even soldiers – to crack down on crime. Instead, his administration has quietly taken law enforcement away, leaving the city with less help to fight...
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Man seeks fiancée’s release from ICE
Entering her 11th month in an immigration lock-up, the detention of the Lithuania-born Tatjana Vesiolko is an unusual one, even in an era of increasingly strict immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump. Al Dallasta, her American fiancé,...
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Midwest rises as the next frontier in data center surge
Alec Willis moved to Monrovia, Indiana, weeks before learning he would soon have a new neighbor: a 390-acre Google data center campus that will require twice the electricity of all Indianapolis households combined when operational, according to a...
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‘SEEING PEOPLE AS PEOPLE’
When Elizabeth Dalzell’s daughter Liesl complained of severe pain in her left shoulder in June by using sign language, it began a nearly monthlong odyssey through New Jersey’s health care system before the young woman with multiple disabilities...
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States take up conservation goals terminated by Trump
WASHINGTON – With a snappy title and a laudable goal, “30 by 30” was a landmark plan hatched to help save at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. Alongside this multinational push, the United States had its own trailblazing version of...
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Flag raises controversy at Education Department
WASHINGTON – A top official at the Department of Education has been keeping a controversial flag linked to Christian nationalism and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection hanging outside his office, according to the agency’s union and a department employee...
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United States withheld intelligence from Israel
WASHINGTON – U.S. intelligence officials temporarily suspended sharing some key information with Israel during the Biden administration over concerns about its conduct of the war in Gaza, according to six people familiar with the matter. In the second...
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Pell Grant fund facing depletion
Funds for yet another government program are on track for depletion and could put higher education further out of reach for millions of Americans, according to research from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The Congressional Budget...
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Extraordinary service recognized in Rockford
A dentist who over two decades brought dental care to thousands of children from low-income families and an organization dedicated to honoring U.S. military veterans are winners of the 2025 Excalibur and Excelsior awards. Dr. Cyrus Oates, 72, is the...
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Abrego Garcia released from detention facility
In a whiplash series of events, a federal judge on Dec. 12 blocked an effort to have Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to custody a day after his release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention. On Dec. 11, District Judge Paula Xinis ordered...
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Delivery drivers face different conditions
American households have become dependent on Amazon. h The numbers say it all: In 2024, 83% of U.S. households received deliveries from Amazon, representing over 1 million packages delivered each day and 9 billion individual items delivered same-day or...
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Private firms snap up mobile home parks
One of America’s most affordable paths to homeownership is slipping away. At manufactured home parks – sometimes called trailer parks or mobile home parks – rents are rapidly rising due to large-scale buyouts by private equity firms. Although private...
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2025 Excalibur and Excelsior Awards on tap
The Rockford region will pause this week to honor some of the people and organizations that make Northern Illinois a special place to live, work and play. Organizers have assembled a stacked field of finalists for the 2025 Excalibur and Excelsior...
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