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.
Riley O'Neil
Illinois Has $5 Billion In Unclaimed Property–Is Any Of It Yours?
Maybe you're doing really well and aren't interested in adding more to your list of possessions at all, or maybe you're a normal human being who wouldn't mind finding out that there might be some unclaimed wealth with your name on it. I think I fall into the second group.
Cicadas Are Coming, And These Household Items Attract Even More
The coming historical cicada emergence is going to happen, and according to everything I've read, there's very little you can do to stop your yard from being filled with them. There's really nothing you can do to keep them away, including using pesticides, but did you know that by using some everyday household items you can accidently attract even more of them (not that anyone would want to do that)?
Forget Cicadas: Why Is Illinois Crawling With Wild Turkeys?
I know we're supposed to be planning for an invasion of several billion, if not a trillion, cicadas in the next few weeks, but there are other invaders who are already making themselves known all over the state. These particular invaders seem pretty cocky with Thanksgiving seven long months from now.
Major Illinois Dairy Files For Bankruptcy Protection
Not to give away too much, but the Illinois dairy we're talking about has been around for well over 100 years, and is pretty famous for home delivery and selling their products in glass bottles. Any guesses?
You Won The Lottery! But, Can You Stay Anonymous In Illinois?
Recently, we saw yet another lottery jackpot cross the billion-dollar mark (sorry, the winner was from another state), and we'll more than likely see it happen again. If you won all that money, you'd probably like to keep a low profile so everyone didn't know who to ask for money, but are you allowed to stay unknown after winning big money in Illinois?
Attention Shoppers: New Study Lists Illinois’ Best Grocery Stores
Do you have a strong loyalty for any particular grocery store, or do you shop several of them to get what you want? Either way, check out this list of Illinois' top spots for food shopping and see if your personal favorite or favorites are on it.
Strange World Records: Here Are Some That Were Set In Illinois
It may be hard to believe, but there have been some rather strange world records set by Illinoisans over the years, beyond having a certain professional sports team setting a record for length of time between world championships (happily that came to an end in 2016).
Pop Quiz: Do You Know How Many Places Are Named Rockford?
So, you've made your summer vacation travel plans, and you're about to set forth across the United States in search of any and every place you can find that carries the name "Rockford." I don't want to give anything away here, but before you go, please make sure you've got good tires and plenty of gas money.
Illinois Pie Lovers: Word Has It This Place Has The State’s Best
Sure, there are lots and lots of places in Illinois you could visit for a good piece of pie. However, this Illinois spot has the reviews and awards that back up its well-deserved reputation for having the very best pies you can find in the state of Illinois.
Thinking Of Leaving Illinois? Here’s Where You’ll Probably Go
People have been leaving, or trying to find a way to leave Illinois for a number of years now. After all the departures, we've become pretty familiar with the term "outbound migration," but have you ever wondered where the majority of those leaving our state end up living? It's mainly 3 states.