Area tragedies share common thread

Anniversaries are big for married couples - and us journalists.

Married couples mark their anniversaries and celebrate them -if the husband doesn't forget.

They look back and reflect on what is different, the same (they still love each other) and overall hopefully better and stronger since the day they exchanged vows.

And they do this every year.

Journalists have a tendency to do the same thing.

One example is from Fox River Grove. On Oct. 25, 1995, a high-speed commuter train slammed into a school bus, killing seven teens and injuring 26.

A year afterward, newspapers and television did one-year later stories talking to those injured and those who lost loved ones.

And 10 years later, more stories were written about what has changed, how accident victims have recovered and the community as a whole has moved forward - but not forgotten.

Recently, I wrote a story about the one-year mark since shots were fired and a brawl erupted in Elgin in broad daylight near a youth football field.

Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.

These two examples are very different in their size and scope, but they share some common threads.

Parents and participants on that football field were undoubtedly scared, much like parents in Fox River Grove felt the pain of others and probably worried that their kids weren't safe on the bus.

How did people in Fox River Grove react after the tragedy? Did they stop riding the bus? No, they grew together and moved forward.

What did the Elgin Youth Football League do in response to the shooting?

Something tells me the last thing parents and coaches want to do was say to the kids: 'We're terrified because of a completely random incident that had nothing to do with you or your team, so were disbanding the league right now. Sorry, now go pretend to play football on your Wii."

That was what the Sept. 19, 2008 story meant to show. That the league - its players, coaches, volunteers and parents - refused to give up. They moved forward and were stronger than before.

This is what reporters do.

We look back. We look forward. We talk to people, then we write about it.

This is not to say the Daily Herald will write a story every year about what happened on Sept. 8, 2007.

But one year later, it was inarguably timely and newsworthy to look at what was different, what had changed and to update readers on the status of the two bad guys - both of whom are from Rockford.

For the record, one was sent back to prison for six years; another is awaiting trial and faces a longer sentences because he actually fired the gun.

Some readers accused me of giving "credit" to the alleged perpetrators.

I disagree. I don't think they gave each other high fives in the correctional center after reading the paper.

If you view the one-year later story as a purposeful, spiteful slam on the Elgin Youth Football League, its players, parents or coaches, or the city in general, you should be whistled and penalized 15 yards for negative thinking.