Riley O'Neil

Riley O'Neil has logged more hours behind a microphone than any other Rockford radio personality, starting out with his hiring at WROK in February of 1983. He’s also the longest-tenured morning show host in WROK's 100-year history, with 22 years as the host of the WROK Morning Show. He’s a multi award-winning commercial producer, voice-over artist, and much sought after product and service endorser for multiple local businesses. In addition to hosting the WROK Morning Show with Joe Dredge, Riley also writes for 1440WROK.com, covering everything from Illinois' best local restaurants, to some of the wildest and funniest things Illinois residents have gotten themselves into, and everything in-between.

Man Opens Door Of Moving Jet At O’Hare, Walks Out Onto Wing

We've all been there. When you find that taxiing to the gate after landing is taking nearly as long as the flight itself, you've probably thought about what it would be like to just open a door and get out. I didn't say you did it, just thought about it.

Iowa Man Rewarded For Eating Same Breakfast For 67 Straight Years

Whether you're a breakfast eater or not, there's something to be said for those who find something they like to eat and then stick with it for almost 7 decades.

“Home Alone” House Owners Pay A Stunning Amount Of Property Tax

If you're an Illinois homeowner, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you told me that you immediately thought "So does every ****ing person who owns a house in this state!"

Always Wanted To Visit A Castle? Illinois Has 7 Of Them

As a fan of the castle concept, it's pretty cool knowing that Illinois has that many. It's even cooler to know that one of those castles is surprisingly close to Rockford.

Walmart Recalls Aromatherapy Sprays Linked To Midwest Deaths

Another day, another recall. However, this recall is different that the ones we've reported on throughout 2021 because it's not something you drink or eat--it's something you spray into a room.

Illinois Considers Law Limiting Amount Of Balloons You Can Release

Divers finding balloons in Lake Michigan and Girl Scouts spending their time picking up balloon debris in the Chicago suburbs led to Illinois State Representative Sam Yingling putting forth Illinois House Bill 418 (HB-418).

Iowa Man Claims To Have Taken Photos Of Bigfoot

It seems as though we just can't get away from Bigfoot. It was a little over a week ago that Joe Dredge wrote a piece on this site about a Bigfoot and Bigfoot baby possibly being filmed in Michigan.

Survey Names Chicago Bears Fans As Being Among The Booziest

I've always thought that if we purchased (in abundance) the products that are pitched to us during the course of an NFL game, we'd all have several large pickup trucks, and they'd all be filled with beer.

Portillo’s Is Worth Nearly $3 Billion Dollars, Plans To Go Public

Judging by the popularity of Portillo's here in Rockford, I've got to assume at least half that $3 billion came from the Mulford Village Drive location. I know that my family is good for probably 3 trips to Portillo's a month.

How To Tell The Difference Between Fireworks And Gunshots

Over the last couple of years, my wife has looked at me while we're sitting on our patio and asked this question: "Were those gunshots or firecrackers and fireworks?"