Winnebago County News

Melvin "Mel" Paris passed away earlier this week. Mel and I served on the county board together and he was a person for whom I had gre at respect for and trusted completely. Mel was bright, caring and generous with his time and energy. A strong activist for organized labor and the Democratic Party, Mel was committed to people: family, friends and his neighbors. He brought a thoughtful, mentoring attitude to his political and UAW union activities, focusing on the needs of the many rather than a select few . He knew we could be stronger as a community when we worked together as team. To his wife Char and family, my thoughts are with you. Paul Gorski, Editor WinnebagoCountyNews.org Full obituary listed at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rrstar/obituary.aspx?n=Melvin-Paris&pid=163483265#fbLoggedOut

A major contributor to the campaign of Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey (I) owns a number of properties in the area near a new amateur sports complex set to open in fall 2014 in the former Ingersoll building, 301-401 S. Madison St., Rockford. The address for Madison Street Properties, LLC, is listed as the same address as Morrissey campaign contributor SupplyCore, Inc. — 303 N. Main St., Suite 800. SupplyCore, Inc., President and CEO... Read the full Rock River Times article and comments at: http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/03/06/morrissey-contributor-owns-property-near-new-downtown-sports-complex/comment-page-1/#comment-8747

Schools are not the only facilites closed today, a number of meetings have been cancelled and stores and businesses are closed or are closing early. Find links to local weather related closings at: RockfordWeatherNews.com ###

Follow local news coverage of Tuesday's big snow on RockfordWeatherNews.com ! Local maps, news, blog posts and more from our local televsion stations in addition to forecasts from a variety of weather services. So visit http://www.rockfordweathernews.com .