Afternoon News Update: May 2
- Rockford School District 205 may be closing several elementary schools. Officials will hold a news conference Monday to discuss plans that could lead to the shutdown of as many as nine schools in the district. Some of the schools targeted include: West View, Walker, Dennis, King, Kishwaukee, Thompson, Cherry Valley, Nelson and White Swan. A final decision is expected in June according to a timeline presented by the district.
- A man is in custody from a west side hit and run. Police have issued an arrest warrant for 33-year-old David McCoy. He allegedly crashed into another car and fled on foot after police tried pulling him over for rolling through a stop sign. It happened Monday night at the intersection of West and Morgan. The driver of the other vehicle remains at an area hospital and has been upgraded to serious condition.
- The suspect who robbed a South Beloit gas station is headed to prison. A jury has found 39-year-old Anthony Miller guilty of armed robbery. He faces a maximum of 30 years behind bars. The incident happened in September 2013 when he robbed and threatened a man in the bathroom. Miller’s sentencing is scheduled for June 17.
- Schnucks will be closing two if its east side grocery stores. The announcement came Thursday stating the South Alpine and Rural Street locations in Rockford will close by the end of May. Almost 150 employees will be affected between both stores. No jobs will be lost though, as the company will move them to other locations.
- Chrysler says U.S. sales of Jeep SUVs assembled at its plant in Belvidere jumped in April compared to the same month in 2013. The company says, however, Dodge Dart sales slumped from a year earlier. Poor sales of the Dart triggered a temporary layoff of more than 300 Chrysler workers several weeks ago.
- A Marquette University student has been shot and two others were robbed near the downtown Milwaukee campus. Authorities say the robberies happened outside a parking structure early this morning. The first two students handed over their valuables to a robber. A second man tried to rob a third student who struggled with the suspect and was shot.
- Illinois state workers are retiring at a higher-than-normal rate before a pension system overhaul takes effect next month. State officials estimate that just over 1,000 government employees were on track to retire in April. The average is about 200. Lawsuits challenging the new pension law that cuts benefits and raises the retirement age are pending.
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