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
Drink Up: Can You Guess Which Alcohol Illinoisans Order The Most?
There are a lot of different choices when it comes to alcoholic beverages, especially at holiday time. However, Illinoisans have shown a preference for a particular type, regardless of the time of year. You may be drinking one right now.
7 Illinois High Schools Named Among Best 50 In The United States
Having seven high schools ranked in the top 50 high schools in the entire country is pretty cool, but in order to send your kid to one of Illinois' top ranked high schools, you might have to call a realtor and moving company.
Illinois Parents Would Go To Jail For A Real Life “Home Alone”
Sure, it's just a movie, and everything worked out in the end. However, if Illinois parents forgot their 8-year old at home over the holidays in real life while they flew first-class off to Paris, they'd be getting a tour of Illinois' legal system.
When People Leave Illinois, They Go Mostly To These 3 States
We've been hearing for years about something called "Outbound Migration" here in Illinois, which is a fancy way of saying "kissing a state goodbye." Illinois may no longer be the state leading the nation in outbound migration, but we're near the top. Ever think about where you'd move if you left Illinois?
Northern Illinois Town Named One Of America’s “Most Christmassy”
Having looked around a bit at different cities and towns in Northern Illinois, I can safely say that there are lots of towns around these parts that really do it up for Christmas. However, there's one place that stands above all the rest when it comes to bringing in the holiday season.
LA Man Leads Illinois Cops On A High Speed Chase For 115 Miles!
When the state of Illinois' tourism people came up with the slogan "Illinois: Mile After Magnificent Mile," I really tend to think that they weren't talking about high-speed chases, because the drivers are more concerned with the road and the police in hot pursuit than the lovely scenery around them.
Yelp Reviews Say This Is Illinois’ Best Place For A Cheeseburger
Maybe you don't live your life according to Yelp reviews (and that's a good thing), but when the cheeseburgers are as highly-rated as these burgers are, you've got to think that the reviewers are definitely on to something here.
Illinois Tops The List Of States With The Highest Heating Bills
This is a good news-bad news story if I've ever heard one. The good news seems to be that we'll be paying less to heat our homes in Illinois than we did last year, but the bad news is that we're still paying more for warmth than any other state's residents are in 2023.
Mailing Holiday Gifts From Illinois? Here’s When To Send Them Out
When you've gone to the time and trouble of grabbing up, wrapping, and then packaging Christmas presents to send to friends and family scattered around the country, missing your holiday shipping deadlines can be a real bummer. So let's not.
This Illinois City Is Home To America’s Top Turkey Experts
For 42 years now, Illinois cooks and kitchen-tasked people from every other state have reached out to one Illinois city for expertise in how to properly serve up a beautiful Thanksgiving Day turkey.
Cheap Seats: White Sox Tickets To Thursday’s Game Are Only $1
A rain-induced scheduling date has prompted the White Sox to offer up tickets to a game this week for the unheard of price of only one dollar, and they're throwing in free parking, too.
PottyMouth: Here Are Illinois’ And Midwest’s Favorite Swear Words
Maybe you're a goody two-shoes who never, ever lets a curse word slip past your lips--or maybe you're like most of the people I know, and have a favorite go-to expletive for any and every situation.