Boat traffic halted on rain-swollen Illinois rivers

  LASALLE, Ill. (AP) - Illinois officials have closed the rain-swollen Vermilion and Illinois rivers to recreational boat traffic.
      The Vermilion river was closed to boats after a raft carrying five people struck a tree on Sunday and overturned. The rafters swam to shore and had to be rescued.
      Illinois Conservation Police Sgt. Hank Frazier says the river's flow more than tripled over three days because of heavy rains.
      He says the Illinois River also is closed along its entire length as its level continues to rise.
      He says a boat overturned on the Illinois River and sank Sunday near Seneca. Nobody was injured.