Always been one of my Sheros and someone I have always looked up to and aspired to view life as she does! Inspiring others even in darker days, dealing with people and trying to do good everyday for everyone no matter who they are, valuing each person for who they are!! Always Potatoes 😂 Potatoes and Perspective...and a Beautiful person and heart ❤️

Why cant the city have more young people who have community service hours or individuals who need hrs. for their gov. benefits clean the streets, waters ways up ,why not have more recyclable center /machines that pay for recyclable cans ,bottles ,news papers, old books Mabe that will stop some people from panhandling on the conners and the streets will be clean .

Very well put together

'promosm' 🤘

What was inside the big safe that was never open

Interesting summary of the economic strides our region has made in recent years and the prospect of future opportunities.

If this kind of teamwork had been in place for the last 60 years, Northern IL/Southern WI would be in a heck of a lot better shape today.

It is so hard to get news like this with the RRStar all but gone and the radio and TV news media falling apart. I wish this could be expanded somehow. The Mayor used to be interviewed on Cable and radio, TV, newspaper along with others--maybe no one cares about local news anymore.

"Promosm"

How do you read these assessments ?

Could you post the phone number we can call when we see someone that is sleeping outside who appears homeless? Thank you

Great Job City Of Rockford!! Shout out to Fabbie FabDanceandFitnessAcademy👍🏼

Everyone targeting children with this Graphene HYDROXIDE, Covid19 US Military's bioweapon will be EXECUTED for crimes against humanity.

Hi Mayor Tom, great interview with lots of good information for our citizens of Rockford! Thanks for all you do for our community! Katie

EXECUTION is the penalty for INFANTICIDE

Raj from the pharmacy, “You don’t know if your kids could be immunocompromised” so you should vax them and remove all doubt.

Raj from the pharmacy, “You don’t know if your kids could be immunocompromised” so you should vax them and remove all doubt.

People who conserve and use less water should get a break. Seniors should get a $$$ break. We’re very aware of how much water we use. We conserve. No waste. I called in once to ask about y water bill and the young lady said “how do you know how much water you use & how do you know how much you should pay” lmao… because my last house tracked water by gallons & the cost was by gallons used. That’s how I know lols:/ but I’m getting used to Rockford. My water bills were less $ in Dupage county & McHenry county.

Improving suburbs*

Do something for the west side and Southside.all the money goes downtown and far east.Name one business that has opened in those two areas?

Hoping the streets in The Meadows of Springbrook subdivision are also being evaluated for resurfacing and crack filling since no work has been done since we were annexed to the city.

Need to develop the tourism of Rockford .build something like attractive monuments , I guess it will bring more visitors to Rockford and also it will help small businesses in the town.We have the great I 90 that runs through the county . And also plz welcome all the companies .and also improve the safety of the city still people scare to visit Rockford. We have to make sure it’s a safest place to live. So far it’s a great step you guys rocking keep going thanks everyone and thank you mayor 👍

Rockford Promise is an amazing program!

Most of this sounds very positive. Thank you for your leadership, Mayor and Council. I've only been a Rockford resident homeowner for 70 days, so far. Your State of the City address content is encouraging.

This video was informative. Thank you both for presenting the content to us. I'm new to Rockford, having recently bought a tiny house near Ellis school. During my first week sleeping in my new home, I heard 3 gunshots. A week later, I heard seven gunshots. Both times, I heard no news as to what had happened nor the outcomes. While you are working to improve the economics of real estate, please be sure to invest in the social aspects of our community for the troubled youth. Promoting GED programs and perhaps grants for technical/blue-collar career programs for those who didn't have career guidance when they were young, and for those who did not have the NIU promise program available to them when they were in school. The pandemic hit most of us pretty hard-even if we didn't get COVID-some financially, some mentally. Instead of complaining about tall grass, consider a program so low-income homeowners can borrow a lawnmower. Maybe start up an entrepreneurial training program for young adults who would like to have a lawn service. Maybe create a list of owner-occupants who are disabled and cannot push a mower or are not in a position to buy a lawn mower. Think about the WHY of the blight you observe, not just how it brings your precious property values (and tax revenue) down. What if you communicate with the owner-occupants to ask them what they need to make things better?! Think community, not punishment fees. Please ask yourself, "what is the root of this problem" before you attempt to fine or slap on a bandage of a so-called solution. **Added 12 hours later** I just watched the Mayor's State of the City address (kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpqVn4WJaNCGeqc) and found that many of my concerns were addressed in that speech/video.

Many of us who have lived in lower income and older neighborhoods for many years have been voicing our concerns about the decline of many of our neighborhoods for decades. We could have told the city (and often have) about the investment this effort would require to bring even a small percentage of these neighborhoods back to a standard that will attract private buyers who want to live and raise their families in these neighborhoods. Many properties (the majority in many neighborhoods) have so many needs just to bring the properties up to current code (electrical, plumbing, etc.) not to mention needed weatherization improvement and updating of basic mechanicals that the figures would be staggering. I'm not surprised at all to learn that Habitat has been overwhelmed in the first year of their new program. And those are for relatively inexpensive and fairly easily addressed repairs for the most part. This effort to successfully fight blight is going to require a lot more investment and creative thinking if it's going to be successful. I live on a one block street of just 13 properties, five of which have been owner occupied for at least ten years, some much longer. Three of the buildings are 4-unit apartment buildings and one is a duplex. I've roughly calculated that to transform all the homes on this street needing serious work would probably total in excess of $500,000 and that's without a lot of cosmetics, landscaping, tree removal ( and that's with 11 trees having been removed when the street was resurfaced about five years ago) and other things that would no doubt surface in the process of doing such a project. We are an old neighborhood, but the homes built here around a century ago were solid and well-constructed at that time. The neighborhood was pleasant, and family-oriented with access to many little businesses and schools within walking distance. I believe the Beef-A-Roo at the south end of our street may be the oldest in Rockford; if not it's right up there. After decades of decline it would be wonderful to salvage neighborhoods like this, but the effort and cost will be much more than imagined. Even our small neighborhood park -- Garfield Park -- needs significant attention and improvement. Back in 2010 the city and Rockford Park District convened a meeting at that park to survey neighbors and determine what people wanted. What we got was nothing (literally -- nothing - nada) and suggestions fell on deaf ears. There is no place even to sit in that park, nor any table for a picnic or to rest water bottles or other things on. It's a shame and it's an excellent example of disregard for environmental justice. Good luck with all the neighborhood initiatives. You're going to need it!

Thank you Mayor!! These are the right steps in the right direction!

Very informative. I had heard about the family peace center, but didn’t understand all the processes involved. Mayor MacNamara is very right about the cycle of trauma. It’s good to see there’s a way to get ahead of it. Thank you.

Great Video...My suggestion is "turn the lights back on"! I think it was a huge mistake eliminating the street lights. There are many very dark areas in our city. I believe it has been shown that lights do help to deter crime.