Archive for March, 2008
March 31st, 2008
I was at a board meeting last week at a popular local restaurant in downtown Rockford, when the business owner made a very profound statement when asked why he decided to open a restaurant in our community. He stated that, “Rockford was a jewel of a community that more people need to discover,” and that “we as a city need to change our perception of how we think of ourselves in order to grow.” He’s exactly right.
Rockford does have so much to offer to outside visitors, individuals looking to establish their own businesses, companies wanting to expand, and even new families building their first homes. We need to invite visitors to see what a jewel of a community Rockford truly is, and our residents need to open their eyes to what we have around us.
This business owner had such conviction and passion when he talked about our community, that it was infectious. He believes so deeply in what Rockford can truly become, and he’s influencing everyone around him in order to ignite change. That’s what we all need to do – find a way to positively influence and find a way to ignite a positive dialogue. I know that it will take more than a little positive thinking in order to help turn things around for the better, but establishing a dialogue is always the right place to start.
So I thank that business owner who is doing his part to start the conversation. And, I challenge the rest of Rockford to begin doing the same.
March 31st, 2008
It is reported by switching off lights that Chicago saved an estimated 420 tons of carbon dioxide according to the local utility, Com Ed. Who will be the first to suggest that we go with an Earth Hour EVERY MONTH?
Jan Herbert
March 31st, 2008
I agree with Jan that we all need to slow down. I would also like to say that often, when I see someone driving erratically, they are holding a cell phone. Often, they’re talking, and often, they’re TEXTING. Many cities and municipalities have banned the use of hand held cell phones while driving. Earpiece/voice-activated units are normally acceptable under these ordinances, which allows persons who spend a lot of time in the car to conduct business. I would certainly support such an ordinance in the city of Rockford. It is already illegal for Illinois drivers under 19 and school bus drivers to use cell phones while driving. (Of course, this is because your 19th birthday is the clear demarcation point for an improved ability to pay attention while holding a cell phone and driving.) I would be interested to know how many teenagers have been ticketed by the Rockford Police Department pursuant to this law since it took effect on Jan. 1, 2008 (assuming they have the authority to do so). And I’d be interested to know the City Council’s opinion regarding a ban on hand held cell phone use while driving.
March 29th, 2008
At our meeting of the community viewpoints board, many of the discussions revolved around demands for increased government services and a larger role for government in solving our problems and addressing our concerns. For example, I pointed to my desire for more sidewalks and pedestrian/bike pathways throughout our community. This costs money. We must always remember that the very foundation for a stable community is a capitalist, free-market environment that attracts job-creating businesses. After all, it is the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers in search of profits (yes, profits), who create the wealth upon which taxes are levied. If we raise taxes too high, we risk driving away the businesses that have created, or may create, the jobs people need to meet their wants and needs. In this regard, I would be interested to know the following in connection with our higher sales tax rate in Rockford: (1) Has the higher sales tax brought in the amount of revenue expected by the city? (2) If not, does the lower-than-expected revenue stream reflect a significant decrease in business for our Rockford companies/employers that can be attributed to the higher sales tax?
March 24th, 2008
The Antidepressant Song
As a witness to the various ways that individuals survive the ravages caused by mental illness, I am always impressed at how resilient human beings truly can be. I have seen people return from the pits of despair and the chaos of psychosis to resume (or perhaps begin) productive and engaged lives, functioning in their communities in the “social role of their choice” (quoted from an older version of the Mission Statement of Singer Mental Health Center). It is a common misconception that mental illness does not respond very well to treatment.
As a medical student, I was once discouraged by a respected mentor from choosing psychiatry as my specialty because he believed that mental illness is primarily caused by “social problems that cannot be resolved.” He could not have been more wrong, and I am glad not to have heeded his advice. I could argue that diabetes is just as frustrating an illness to treat since many people do not do well because they choose not to follow their prescribed diets, exercise regularly, or take their medications correctly. The fact is that mental illness does respond well to treatment, and much of that is owed not only to the marvels of modern medicine, but to the innate human capacity for adaptation.
When I was asked to blog on this site, I was unsure as to what to expound upon. I’ve written essays in school newsletters and journals before, and I still write an occasional column for the staff newsletter at Singer. But those diatribes have been shaped and focused by the specific audiences I was addressing. This is the first time I have been asked to write for a general audience, but it occurred to me that perhaps part of the reason I was selected for this board was to offer my own unique perspective as a psychiatrist in this community. So I will probably be writing a lot about mental health issues, although I may diverge to other topics from time to time.
For now I will be focusing on this idea of Resilience, something on which I have given much thought lately not only because of the experiences of my patients, but because of my own experience with surviving stress. Stay tuned…
Raymond C. Garcia, M.D.
March 24th, 2008
So I am reading rrstar.com, and see this quote:
“Your 173 is the new East State Street,” Pankaj Mahajan, director of retail development for First Rockford Group, said.
And then I begin thinking to myself. Do I really want 173 to be State Street? We already have the interchange at I-90, so we know something is coming. It’s that something that has me wondering. I love having the convenience of the box-stores. We already have Target, Menards, and Home Depot. We’ve got Office Depot & Office Max. Have Bed Bath & Beyond, Michael’s and TJ Maxx, too. I’ve got my dry cleaners and cell phone store. Oh, and we have the movie place and some restaurants, too. We’ve got the Riverside & Rockton Wal-Marts, so we don’t need them. I’d like to have a Best Buy. But what else would we need there?
Am I just so lame that I am satisfied with the national retailers we already have? What other national retailers want to be in my neighborhood? Do I really want a four-lane 173 with traffic and stoplights everywhere? The Christmas holiday was only three months ago, and I remember the traffic and parking nightmare at State & Perryville. I really don’t think I want that in my back yard. Maybe someone will change my mind.
March 24th, 2008
You know, as I read the articles on rrstar.com as the village board debates and decides on lot sizes, one question keeps coming to my mind: What differentiates Roscoe from other communities in the northern part of the valley? Have they met the need to be competitive, yet still offer something different?
In my mind, Roscoe is a terrific bedroom community, one that I wouldn’t mind living in. Larger homes, larger lots, higher median incomes, higher median educational levels. What’s not to like about that picture? Debates over 75 vs 85 vs 100 vs 110 foot lot size. Is the need for Roscoe to be competitive among developers going to change perceptions? It does in my mind.
I’m thinking long term, so follow along with me here. Let’s hypothesize that Roscoe keeps its development lot sizes at 100 feet. In the short term, developers are going to select other communities with smaller lot sizes and start filling them up. As population goes up, so do issues such as roads, schools, etc. So other communities will have to deal with that. Then the other communities start complaining that they can’t handle the growth. Then the light bulb comes on … Roscoe’s got room … Surely there are buyers out there who don’t want to be cramped. The developers begin seeing the light … less homes, more room, higher prices. Suddenly, Roscoe comes to the rescue, and it gets to keep its differentiator … better demographics. Certainly one of the northern valley communities wants to attract a different resident than those who don’t mind being cramped…
In my mind, Board Trustee Sharon Atkins has it right, as quoted by rrstar.com: “I think we should be able to offer what other communities do not have.”
Let’s see what happens in the next few months as variances come into play.
March 21st, 2008
Hello everyone,
I’ve never “blogged” before, but here goes….
My understanding is that we are to use this forum to express our viewpoints, and initiate online conversations about a variety of issues facing the Rockford area community. As I write this, we are once again being pummelled by a snowstorm. It is March 21st. Yesterday was the first day of spring.
I would like to propose that our mayor work in collaboration with our city coucil and area meteorologists to do something about this snow situation. We’ve had enough already. We are running out of salt, our backs are aching, and it is very difficult to play golf with snow on the ground. It is time to put an end to this nonsense.
It is time to begin an anti-snow campaign. If our leaders can’t put an end to this snow and bring in some warmer weather & sunshine, then let’s elect some leaders who can. Who’s with me?
Kerry Burd
March 21st, 2008
In the five years that I have lived in Rockford, there is one thing that I’ve noticed that permeates throughout the city – Rockford’s negative attitude. Maybe it’s from the issues that have existed within our educational system, or economic decline that has occurred nationwide, or maybe it’s from an embedded attitude that the city can’t do any better. Whatever it is, I feel that it’s time for our city to have a change in mindset – this time for the better.
I am a believer that anything can change, even cities, if enough people are determined to make a difference and play their part. But the first step is having individuals believe they can have an impact, and change the way they think about the community. We need to look at the positives that Rockford has to offer, and talk about those areas, instead of reinforcing what we feel is wrong with the city. With enough people discussing the good instead of the bad, then maybe even the Rockford skeptics will start to believe that our city’s glass is actually half full.
March 20th, 2008
For many drivers, you might just as well remove the turn signals from their car because they never use them. You aren’t bothered if you are a mind-reader but otherwise isn’t it irritating to be waiting to turn across a line of traffic when there’s been an opening in the traffic. You wait because it’s the right thing to do and then at the last second you realize the other driver simply didn’t use their turn signal and you could have gone? I’ve started doing it too and it seems I remember receiving a ticket for not using my turn signal when changing lanes. I’ll be trying better to remember so that I don’t annoy you!
Jan Herbert
Previous Posts
