OK, let’s hear your ideas about how to improve Rockford
May 15th, 2008 at 09:30pm Chuck Sweeny
The posting I did about who might run for mayor of Rockford got me to thinking. Yes, I got some sarcastic comments, which is fine. I enjoy coming up with halfway funny responses.
But what if we go in another direction? What if we use this post as a forum to come up with serious solutions to what we see as Rockford’s and the region’s problems?
See, I’ve lived here all my life, and for all my adult years I’ve heard complaints about this, complaints about that, conspiracy theories galore about what “they” are doing at City Hall or the courthouse or the School board to shaft the taxpayers.
These are mostly fact-free observations and urban falsehoods like, “We voted against the MetroCentre and they built it anyway.” The facts are: Voters rejected a property tax increase to build a civic center in the mid–1960s. In the 1970s, the legislture passed a bill to fund civic centers with taxes from racetrack winnings. So, the MetroCentre was built with racetrack tax money, not our property taxes.
I could go on. And on. And on, exploding myth after myth. But I’ve done it so many times, frankly, I’m bored trying to explain things to people who have no intention of listening to me.
All I’ve heard for 40 years on local talk radio is an endless series of paranoid rants. I often think that if someone thinking about moving to Rockford listened to the people who were born here, he’d turn his car around and get out of town at 80 mph.
So, let’s hear it, Rockfordians. Let’s turn the page. Give me some positive ideas for the future, with as many details as you can provide about how the job should get done.
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12 Comments Add your own
1. George Washington | May 16th, 2008 at 8:02 am
See Chuck, this is what I’m talking about. You are a unique repository for good ideas (and bad, but at least you can recognize the difference.) This is your time, sir. Your time to lead this city into the future.
2. Hoffian | May 16th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Chuckles, I was not being sarcastic about signing on to your mayoral campaign or about my witnessing one of your reporters challenge Charlie Box to step outside and settle an argument. I was being truthful.
3. Chuck Sweeny | May 16th, 2008 at 9:49 am
So, folks, where are your constructive ideas for changing Rockford for the better. Don’t hold back now.
4. Chuck Sweeny | May 16th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Hoffian, During Mr. Box’s 12 years in office, I argued with him many times. Apparently you weren’t there any of those times.
5. unmanager | May 16th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
To start…
I can accept the Riverwalk concept…. BUT start at Beattie Park and go SOUTH to Davis Park…I’d have to imagine re-vamping what is already in place would be much cheaper than the plans that have been shown heading north…there’s parking at the Discovery Center and in my mind parents visiting there are not gonna want to park south of Beattie, get all the strollers,diaper bags,etc. to walk that extra distance…and getting back to the car with tired kids is no treat(yes,I have experienced that)…
6. hokumboy | May 16th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
As I’ve said before. Over and over and over. The Riverwalk should be on the EAST side!
Start at the old Davis Furniture Bldg and go north to Whitman on both Water and Madison. Give all the small factories and job shops along the way a FREE building from the many unoccupied factory buildings in Rockford we have to choose from. Throw in a tax incentive just like we do for once famous rock stars that want to build on the edge of town. Then fill the area with small shops and restaurants. There’s already the ice house, the brewery, boat docks, two ethnic clubs, and the bike path. North of Whitman is the”Y” and Sinnissippi Lagoon along with the proposed re-vamping of the garden area. Tag on a decent walkway over to Anderson Gardens (or have a shuttle trolley from Sinnissippi). If you want to connect with the Museum area, put in another walking bridge from the Verdi Club area, across the river and into the Burpee/Discovery/RAM area.
Then get that I-Max built! Imagine that running the latest I-Max feature and having daily showings of their Dinosaur flick to tie in with Jane. I’m sure folks would make the trip from the ‘burbs to Rockford to avoid having to see an IMax in the Chi/Metro area. Re-open and subsidise the Storefront somewhere downtown.
Look at the great strides the first half mile of East State has made.
We don’t have to have a Riverwalk only where the Morrissey family owns property. Or do we?
7. Chuck Sweeny | May 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
By all means, the East Bank is where the River Walk should be!
I agree, provide those factories with new homes in an industrial park and create an entertainment and recreational district along the East bank from downtown all the way to the YMCA, linking to the existing rec path that goes by the (soon to be renewed) SInnissippi Gardens and north to Loves Park. It could truly be a destination for visitors to our city.
Elements of this are already in place. The old Brewery is just waiting for creative development. The Verdi and Lombardi clubs could be brought into the mix. You’ve got the Y, Mary’s pub, gardens, a new conservatory in the works that’s going to feature waterfalls and streams along with exotic plants.
8. Chuck Sweeny | May 16th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Hoffian, we think the reporter you referred to was either Scott Williams or Bert Dahlmer.
9. Leatherneck | May 17th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
The biggest falsehood is that “building things” = progress and improvement. I call it overdevelopment and urban sprawl. Here is a positive idea: leave things the hell alone!
Here is a positive idea: abandon this idea of a riverwalk. You see, many Rockfordians don’t have time to stand around in the park all day and stare at the river. The people who would utilize it the most are the winos and transients, whom we have more of.
Here is a positive idea: Let’s demolish Concord Housing Projects and Auburn Manor the same way we did Jane Addams. And keep going, to Fairgrounds, etc. This is one lesson we can take from Chicago, where they tear down public housing and replace it with high priced housing and send their riff-raff and criminals to live in Rockford. Well, we can do it too. Get out the bulldozers; that’s what I call progress.
Positive idea: Revisit zoning laws and buiding permits and apply more scrutiny. I don’t care about what the free market says, common sense dictates that we don’t need a Walgreen’s drugstore on every corner or payday loanshark stores. We didn’t need menard’s/home depot/lowe’s within a block of each other either. I realize this idea is too vague and won’t pass the sniff test, but is it not positive to think about how to undo the damage done?
Positive idea: The next time some wealthy health care corporation wants to build another Taj Mahal glass palace medical office suite, we must apply econimic pressure so that they can only build it on the West Side, in the heart of the toughest neighborhood. This way, they will be forced to serve the medical needs of the surrounding (poor) community who is most at-risk and in need of health care. Sound crazy? John Hopkins does it in inner city Baltimore and also Chicago has several university hospitals in its South Side. Rfd Memorial….or whoever, they all seem to have the money for such lavish places…should build it in the vacant lots after we tear down our worst slums
Positive idea: Become serious about being a “green city”. Recycling centers and a lot more bins and locations to separate paper and plastic bottles. We could do so much MORE if the logistics were better and if it were more convenient.
Our school district needs to get serious about RECYCLING. The new scab janitor service refuses to separate glass, cans, paper, and plastic. We waste millions of pounds of paper and recyclable products in our schools alone. Being a “green” city means more than growing flowers and gardens. It means self-discipline to recycle and it means instilling routines and habits. And means leadership to put a structure in place, year round.
10. Canton | May 18th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I think the number one thing Rockford and it’s citizens needs is a dose of reality. We are a mid-sized city in the Midwest that is transitioning from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. Many of our ills are regional or even global issues that are out of our control.
I have lived in Rockford for most of my life, but it was not until I spent time in Seattle in the early 90’s that I began to appreciate Rockford. At the time, Money Magazine ranked Seattle the number 1 city to live in, and well, we all remember where Rockford was ranked.
Seattle was, and is, a great city. It has a mild climate, good job base, big city amenities, and all kinds of lakes, mountains, and nature type activities. I always look forward to visiting the area. But, the locals thought differently. They thought Money Magazine was crazy, and Seattle was boring and there was nothing for young people to do.
This is when I realized that it’s not where you are at, but who you are with. A positive attitude and outlook on life is what makes the difference. On a day in day out basis our lives in Rockford are not much different than the lives of people across the country.
I would say some of the positives of Rockford would include; cost of living, ability to get anywhere in town in about 20 minutes or less, great affordable golf courses, a top notch YMCA, and our proximity to Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison.
On a different note, I agree that if we are to have a river walk it should be from the Y to the south. That would be a logical place for development. However, I don’t think a river walk is the magnet that will entice people to come downtown.
Jobs are the answer to downtowns development problems. Let’s take the money we would spend on a river walk and us that as incentive to lure businesses to downtown. If you have more good paying jobs downtown coupled with $4 to $5 per gallon gas, downtown will blossom. Jobs will increase residential demand which will increase business development.
11. Hoffian | May 19th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Neither one of those names ring a bell, Chuck. Young guy, mid 20s. He was a crime reporter…pretty good one as I remember. He and Fred Speers were always out and about covering the latest criminal happenings.
12. Huffman Blvd | May 24th, 2008 at 7:44 am
I agree whole heartedly with Leatherneck about the removal of social debree that is cluttering our city with unwanted transients. In fact, I would vote Leatherneck as a mayor with a strong vision of where the city needs to be.
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