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Plan to overhaul Illinois Route 75 bridge moves forward

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Plan to overhaul Illinois Route 75 bridge moves forward


ROCKTON, Ill. (WIFR) – After almost 100 years of narrowly connecting downtown Rockton to the village’s southern portion, the plan to completely reconstruct the Illinois Route 75 bridge over the Rock River is getting some legs.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) team behind the project to completely replace the bridge got community feedback and questions through a virtual public information meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

The meeting included presentations from the people behind the project and Q&A portions for anyone on the call to ask the team their questions.

Panelists from the project included Michael Kuehn, IDOT District 2 Studies and Plans Engineer; Corey Conderman, IDOT District 2; Mike Cima, Quigg Eng. – Project manager; Francis Nelson, Quigg Eng. – Project Engineer. Sarah Parisien with WSP moderated the conversation and asked all of the questions.

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Noteworthy Questions and Answers

  • Q: Where does this bike path south of the river go?
    • A: “The bike path will continue east on River Street to south on Ferry Street. It will connect to Old River Road and head east by the Rockton Athletic Fields toward Illinois 2.
  • Q: How much will this project cost?
    • A: Estimated to cost between 12 and 13 million dollars.
  • Q: Where is the money coming from?
    • A: State and federal funding; Taxes on gas
  • Q: Where will the detour be?
  • Q: How much time will this detour add to my commute across the bridge?
    • A: Five minutes, no more than ten minutes

The Illinois Department of Transportation’s plan for the bridge can be seen on its website. IDOT will also post the recording of the meeting for anyone to see.

If you still have questions, they can be emailed to Andrew.P.Dewey@illinois.gov by Tuesday, Feb. 11.



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Thousands of Illinois residents report power outages amid storms

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Thousands of Illinois residents report power outages amid storms


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More than 30,000 Illinois residents reported power outages Wednesday morning amid severe storms and destructive winds.

The National Weather Service forecast two rounds of severe weather throughout the day, issuing a tornado watch early Wednesday morning across central Illinois.

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Where were power outages reported in Illinois?

More than 35,000 of the more than 5.8 million customers tracked on PowerOutage.com reported outages Wednesday, as of noon.

The majority of these outages were concentrated in west-central Illinois in Warren, Henderson and Woodford counties.

More than 93% of the customers tracked in Henderson County and nearly 60% of those in Warren County were impacted by outages.

Less widespread outages were also reported in DeKalb, Mercer, Knox, Menard, Jefferson and Gallatin counties.

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Electric service company Amaren was by far the most impacted utility provider, followed Commonwealth Edison Company and Corn Belt Energy Corporation.

Illinois power outage map

Report power outages in Illinois

Illinois residents can report power outages in their area at PowerOutage.com.

Illinois power outage tracker

To track where power outages have been reported and where they have been restored, follow the USA Today power outage tracker.

Chicago weather radar

Central Illinois weather radar



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Pritzker calls on Bears to clarify what they’re seeking in Illinois stadium deal

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Pritzker calls on Bears to clarify what they’re seeking in Illinois stadium deal




Pritzker calls on Bears to clarify what they’re seeking in Illinois stadium deal – NBC Chicago



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Pritzker says Bears must express what they want from Illinois, remains open to special session

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Pritzker says Bears must express what they want from Illinois, remains open to special session


CHICAGO (WLS) — The finger-pointing surrounding the Bears stadium saga continues with elected officials from Illinois, Chicago, and Indiana all placing the blame for the continued uncertainty either on each other, or in some cases, on the team.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker spent about 10 minutes touting the highlights from Illinois’ eighth consecutive balanced budget. But not until he was probed about the Chicago Bears apparent focus on Hammond, Indiana for a new stadium did he acknowledge the elephant in the room.

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“The reality is that the Bears have to express themselves about what it is that they want,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker referenced a bill passed in the House and a different bill passed in the Senate, saying that the Bears now need to make it clear what it is in those two bills that the organization needs in order to build a stadium in Illinois.

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While the Bears say they are advancing stadium development in Hammond, Pritzker says he remains open to a special legislative session this summer if an agreement can be reached with the team. And in the meantime, lines of communication remain open.

“I think lots of people have gotten calls, including my administration and me, so they have thoughts, but they have not been clear about what is the bill that they need, and how do they need to look, and then, can they get the votes necessary to get it done in the House and the Senate,” Pritzker said.

Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch echoed the governor’s sentiments on a special session but downplayed any urgency brought on by the Bears’ plans in Indiana.

“The statement that I saw the first week of June was very different than the statement we saw in February. In February, that statement was very specific about Wolf Point. In the statement that came out in June was very generic that they are looking at sites, which tells me that they’ve taken a step backwards,” Welch said.

Meanwhile, in Indiana, Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott touched on the Bears stadium on his Left of Center podcast on Tuesday morning.

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“We’re getting close, to being, you know… We’re getting close,” McDermott said.

The mayor spent a few minutes on his podcast reacting to a speech from Republican Sen. Jim Banks from Indiana, who took aim at Pritzker last week, saying his biggest legacy will be losing the Chicago Bears to Indiana. McDermott, a Democrat, said he has been told by other leaders in Indiana to avoid providing any bulletin board material.

“I think that’s a better speech a month from now when this thing is over. It’s a much better speech in a month than it is right now. I don’t think that helps too much,” McDermott said.

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