Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker visits Belvidere, Robinson Sunday following emergency disaster proclamation

Governor J.B. Pritzker visited the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere this morning to survey damage caused by the Friday tornado that killed one man and injured over 40 adults during a metal concert.

Arriving in Belvidere, Pritzker gave a short news conference. He confirmed that one individual had died, 48 others were treated in hospitals and five remained in critical condition following the collapse.

Pritzker also praised the “quick work” of residents and first responders who helped pull people out of the rubble after the tornado touched down Friday evening. He said their actions saved lives.

“The people of Illinois know when others are hurting,” he said. “Neighbors show up for each other to help alleviate the suffering, and as your governor, I really couldn’t be more proud of everyone.”

The news conference took place at 104 N. State St., Belvidere, the site where an EF-1 twister caused the theater’s roof to collapse onto the crowd Friday evening.

Dan Zaccard, director of Boone County emergency management, told the Tribune that 50-year-old Frederick Forest Livingston, Jr. died in the collapse. By Saturday, Zaccard said that some of the over 40 wounded had already gone home. Those still hospitalized had mostly suffered “head trauma and soft tissue injuries,” he said. None of the injured were children.

Zaccard also confirmed that a tornado caused the accident. Characterized as an EF-1, the storm had wind speeds between 90 and 100 miles per hour, he said.

“The weather service did their survey and found the tornado had a 28-mile track that started in Ogle County and ended in North Boone County,” Zaccard said.

Belvidere is located in central Boone County.

During the Belvidere news conference, Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau also expressed gratitude for those who were on the scene Friday night.

“If it wasn’t for the fast and coordinated efforts on Friday night, we would have seen a more tragic outcome from the events,” Tate-Nadeau said. “I really want to tell you what a great job your fire and police have done for you in being able to respond to this incident. If it wasn’t for their actions, there would have been many more lost lives.”

Pritzker also said the Illinois Emergency Management Agency is working alongside local officials to assess other storm impacts throughout the state. He said by the end of the day, power will be restored to the remaining 4,400 people experiencing outages.

Later Sunday, Pritzker will travel to Robinson and give a 2 p.m. news conference on the storm damage. At least three people died in Crawford County due to Friday storms, Illinois State Rep. Adam Niemerg announced during a Saturday news conference. The names of the dead were not yet released at that time, but Niemerg said his office will continue to provide updates.

Twelve tornadoes tore through Illinois Friday evening, the National Weather Service confirmed.

Pritzker issued an emergency disaster proclamation on Saturday evening for Boone, Crawford, DuPage, Marion and Sangamon Counties to unlock immediate assistance and public safety support for communities impacted by Friday’s severe weather, according to an emailed statement from the governor’s office.

“The devastating storms that swept through our state last night have upended communities and resulted in heartbreaking injury and loss of life,” Pritzker said in the statement.

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