A deadly tornado, a messy merger, a presidential visit: A look back on big stories of 2023

"Hasib Neaz was waiting for death metal band Morbid Angel to take the stage at Belvidere's Apollo Theatre as howling winds slammed a fire door open and shut again and again.

The 34-year-old had come from Des Plaines for the concert. He felt something wet hit his hand. He had time to wonder if someone had spilled a beer on him then everything went black."

That's the beginning of Jeff Kolkey's story from the night the tornado struck the Apollo Theatre. He interviewed dozens of people who were there and wove their stories together to paint a picture of what it was like inside the theater that night. That story had an impact on me.

When I think of the stories from 2023 that had or could have an impact on the community, so many different kinds of stories come to mind — from our coverage of the tornado to stories about economic development and politics. Impact means so many different things to different people.

Here's a look back at some of the big stories of 2023 for the Rockford Register Star.

"How a $17M land option landed Belvidere the deal of a lifetime with Stellantis" was a behind-the scenes look at how Rockford leaders put together a winning package to lure Stellantis back to the Rockford area. With a $4.8 billion investment and thousands of jobs hanging in the balance, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's office in March placed an urgent call to local officials to secure land for an expansion and local leaders used the Northern Illinois Land Bank Authority to secure a $17 million land option.

And who could forget the presidential visit that followed. "Biden to Belvidere UAW: 'You changed the face of the country'" told the story of when President Joe Biden traveled to the Rockford area, joining Gov. JB Pritzker, UAW President Shawn Fain and UAW Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen for a rally in Belvidere to celebrate the union's deal with Stellantis.

"Who's the boss? Rockford's business world could be headed for a shake-up" was a story that helped people understand some of the massive changes underway at two of the city's largest business groups as influential business leaders worked to merge the two organizations into one.

The newly formed Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce stumbled out of the gate when it announced a new board of directors that lacked minority representation, as told in "No minorities: New Rockford Chamber board completely lacking racial diversity." Minority board members have since been added.

"Rockford mental health board members call budget cuts 'bogus, nonsensical'" told the story of how the Winnebago County Board cut the Winnebago County Mental Health Board's $31 million 2024 budget appropriation to $12 million in a largely symbolic gesture over issues with the large amount of money Mental Health Board had in reserves and how much they are spending on program administration.

"Mental health funding dispute leaves Rockford trauma center on life-support" then looked at the state of a mental health program that sought funding from the Mental Health Board and was unable to obtain it.

"'Too important to fail': Efforts underway to bring Barber-Colman project back to life" was a story about the effort to bring a multi-million dollar redevelopment project back to life after a Rockford City Council vote all but killed it.

The very next week came this story: "Rockford rejects labor agreement, approves Colman Yards plan." Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara broke a tie vote rejecting a project labor agreement with union labor and paving the way for the $170 million Phase 1 of the Barber-Colman redevelopment plan to begin.

Some of these stories will continue to evolve into 2024, and we'll continue to follow them.

Until then, here's to 2024 and more journalism that matters.

Corina Curry is the news director of the Rockford Register Star.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: The stories that helped shape 2023 in the Rockford area