This week is our kickoff to summer week and our GDS social media expert Hope Linker Jobes is with us to share how we can make a perfect summer marketing plan. Hope recommends planning content ahead of time for major holidays and events. Another one of her tips is to always allow wiggle room for current trends and timely pop culture events. She suggests creating batches of content when possible and to plan for flexibility day by day. Some apps that she finds very helpful include Meta Business Suite, Later, and Planoly. Hope likes these apps because it is great for planning out content. You can check out Hope’s 30 Days of Content calendar on her website at chiccommunications.com.

Housing inventory in the Rockford area has hit a new low, with the number of available homes for sale falling below 200 properties.

The State of Illinois honored 136 police officers with the Medal of Honor on Wednesday.

East High School was placed on lockdown Tuesday as Rockford Police chased a car burglary suspect to a nearby business.

Gang violence is to blame for a Tuesday night drive-by shooting in Freeport that narrowly missed its targets.

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara laid out the city's accomplishments and challenges during his annual "State of the City" address Tuesday evening, but address did not go off without some drama

While no deaths have been reported from Sunday’s building collapse in downtown Davenport, one of the casualties is the 22-month-old Mockingbird on Main theater.

Winnebago County Board Member Jaime Salgado (D-District 12) has been charged with driving under the influence after being stopped by police over the Memorial Day weekend.

A collective thank you from students, staff and the community was given on Tuesday, as the school resource officer who stopped a school shooting in Dixon was honored.

The Veterans Memorial Circle, inside the roundabout at N. Main and Auburn Street, was heavily damaged by a reckless driver over the Memorial Day weekend.

A 49-year-old woman from Rockford, Illinois was killed Sunday when a reckless driver slammed into her and another woman.

A man who was stabbed at a Rockford tattoo parlor later barricaded himself inside a residence and refused to come out.

Fire causes $20K in damages on Summit Street