rrstar.com Volume 160, Number 352 $1.00

Rockford R StaregisterNewspaper of the Rock River Valley

Daily

Friday, December 18, 2015

Students help fillEmpty StockingOPINION, PAGE A15

‘THE FORCE AWAKENS’ IN ROCKFORDLOCAL&STATE, PAGE A3

Complete forecast, A4

Bears have work to doThe playoffs might be out of reach, but the Bears can still answer questions on offense the last three weeks of the season, Hub Arkush says. B1

BUSINESS

SPORTS

Unique outfits, help for momA new children’s boutique in Rockton is a dream come true for owner Lisa Washington. A5

Business .........A5Classified ...B5-10Comics ............B8Deaths ........A7-11

Lottery ............A4Opinion ......... A15Sports ..........B1-4U.S./World .... A14

TODAY SAT SUN

31°/18° 31°/24° 46°/41°

$60,000

$50,000

$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

$0

$33,660.42

How to donategofundme.com/emptystockingorEmpty Stocking ClubC/O Associated Bank612 N. Main St.Rockford, IL 61103-6997

Rockford Register Star’s

Empty Stocking FundROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

Cheap Trick ‘deserves long-overdue’ spot among music’s eliteThey’re in!

Online extraGo to rrstar.com for a

photo gallery of Cheap

Trick over the years, a

collection of congratu-

lations on social media

from fans and celebri-

ties, and a timeline of

fun facts, including the

band’s full discography.

TOP: Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson and Bun E. Carlos. ABOVE:

The band in a 1994 publicity shot PROVIDED

By Georgette Braun and Brian Leaf | Staff writers

When Cheap Trick started playing here in 1973, they never aspired to be in the Rock

and Roll Hall of Fame. Why? Because it didn’t exist then, frontman and guitarist

Rick Nielsen said Thursday in a telephone interview with the Register Star. But

the Rockford rockers will gladly take a seat among music’s elite. Cheap Trick, Chicago,

Deep Purple, Steve Miller and N.W.A. were identified earlier in the day as the Rock and

Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Class of 2016. “It’s quite an honor,” said Nielsen, who

was in Los Angeles and hoarse from singing and nonstop media interviews. “It’s a pretty

select bunch of people. And for the most part, you are picked by people in the industry.”

Nielsen said petitions signed by fans and fan votes online urging the Hall of Fame to

induct Cheap Trick were appreciated: “I think all of it helped.” SEE CHEAP TRICK, A6

LOCAL&STATE

Teen shooting victim ID’dThe Winnebago County coroner has identified the 17-year-old who was gunned down Wednesday afternoon outside a house on the west side. A3

NATION/WORLD

Putin with kind words for TrumpIn Vladimir Putin’s view, Donald Trump is “bright and talented.” But as much as those words sound overtly like praise, there are some murky nuances. The most unequivocally favorable part of the comments the Rus-sian leader made Thursday to a scrum of reporters after his annual year-end news conference was about the Republican presidential aspi-rant’s claims that he wants to improve relations with Russia. A14

By Isaac GuerreroStaff writer

ROCKFORD — Federal agents found what they were looking for when they executed a search warrant and explored a basement room in the Public Safety Building Wednesday as part of their probe into Win-nebago County purchasing irregularities.

What they discovered in the room was exercise equipment that the county purchased more than a year ago for its employee Well-ness Center, located in the adjacent building formerly known as the Ware Center, County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen told members of the County Board Finance Committee on Thursday.

Christiansen’s explana-tion came after the board’s ranking Republican, John F. Sweeney, R-16, asked the chairman to explain what the county uses the room for and what’s kept in it.

FBI PROBE

Feds find equipment after search

SEE FBI, A13

By Chris GreenStaff writer

R O C K F O R D — D o you have a product or an inspired idea that needs development? Rockford MakerSpace may be the place for you.

The fledgling not-for-profit community workshop and laboratory is targeting tinkerers, inventors, artists, hobbyists, do-it-yourselfers and budding entrepreneurs — all with ideas but not the space, tools or perhaps the know-how to turn their creativity into something tangible.

Nearly 40 people attended a free informational and planning meeting Thursday at Conveyer Company, 317 W. Jefferson St. Rockford Mak-erSpace co-founders Kevin Holdmann and Doug Heim-becker, both local mechanical engineers at TAC Rockford, invited the participants to share their ideas about what a shared community work-shop could offer.

COMMUNITY

MakerSpace workshop on the way

SEE WORKSHOP, A13

InsideSeat in hall rounds out

band’s resume. Our

View, A6