Bill Murray Had Car Problems In Rockford, IL

A Rockford woman recently shared her excitement over a positive story involving Bill Murray's stop in town. The Forest City is no stranger to negative press so who can blame any 815-er for being joyful about a story giving Rockford some love. Before sharing in her excitement, let's do a quick fact check and see if it's real.

First, the story.

WCA4News.com reported this:

ROCKFORD, Illinois – A new interview with Bill Murray is creating a lot of buzz in and around Rockford, Illinois this morning after the actor began praising Rockford residents for helping him when his car encountered some mechanical problems as he passed through the city recently.

The story continued with "comments" from "Bill Murray" praising residents' kindness and even mentioned how "Bill Murray" would love to retire in Rockford, IL. (Yeah, right.)

So, let's dissect.

Fact Check: 1 (Social Media scavenger hunt.)

The story may not be far-fetched because we all know Bill Murray is a Chicago native, so coming to (or through) Rockford isn't an absurd possibility. But, with a story like this, there has to be more on social media aside from this website article. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures or videos. As they say, 'pic or it didn't happen.'

Fact Check: 1 (FAIL)

Fact Check: 2 (Good 'ol Snopes).

After doing a quick search at snopes.com, stories like Bill Murray have car problem in Rockford and being helped by the "wonderful" residents are not uncommon... but are 99.99% fake. According to Snopes,

The articles all feature a revolving list of celebrities (e.g., Matthew McConaughey, Patrick Dempsey, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler, Harrison Ford, Will Ferrell) purportedly talking about a variety of towns across the U.S. (e.g., Mustang, Oklahoma; Marion, Illinois; Rochester, New Hampshire; Pflugerville, Texas; Marion, Ohio).

So, add Rockford to the list because the story isn't true. But, I have been known to be "misinformed" or have been called out for "leaving out information", according to one local newspaper. Let the record show I've not been able to find any evidence that this event actually happening.

Will Toys ‘R’ Us Bankruptcy Effect Rockford?

Catch JB Love on ‘Q98.5 Mornings with Lil Zim & JB’ on Q98.5 from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.