By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The next use for federal post-pandemic stimulus money in the city will go toward bolstering adult education, supporting survivors of domestic violence and improving the historic field where the Rockford Peaches once played.
Those are among eight ways the city plans to spend American Rescue Plan dollars in its next phase of allocations. City Council members this week approved the $3.2 million plan, which marks the third and final phase of allocating a total of $54.8 million in federal relief money that was sent to the city. The money must be spent before the end of 2026.
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The vote Monday isn’t the last time each measure will be discussed by the council. The vote sets the money aside in the city’s budget, but individual approval will be required when each matter comes back before the council in the coming months.
Here’s a breakdown of the eight ways the council approved spending the money.
Purchase interim library for Family Peace Center
Amount: $1 million
The city plans to purchase the Hart Interim Library, 214 N. Church St., for the future home of the Family Peace Center, which is now a few blocks away at 315 N. Main St.
City officials say they need the additional space the 51,500-square-foot interim library building provides. It is more than triple space of the existing facility. The Peace Center, which serves as a one-stop hub for survivors of sexual and domestic violence, had 11 community partners within the building when it opened in 2020. Now, it’s grown to encompass 34 partner organizations and there are more that want to move in.
“If we stay in the current location we cannot onboard one more partner, not even as a referral,” Jennifer Cacciapaglia, the head of the Mayor’s Office of Domestic and Community Violence Prevention, said during Monday’s City Council meeting.
The building was initially a Montgomery Ward department store when it opened in 1928, according to the Rockford Public Library History & Genealogy Room. It was sold to Winnebago County for a satellite jail, and was later the home for its Resource Intervention Center serving people on probation.
The library bought the building in 2016 for $325,000. It spent roughly $4 million remodeling the facility, including ceilings, flooring, bathrooms, plumbing, parking lot improvements, all new windows and other fixes, according to Bridget Finn, the library’s marketing director.
The building is listed for sale at $795,000. The city has dedicated $1 million to purchase the building and cover moving costs and punch-list improvements needed.
Cacciapaglia said the building will likely not be the final location for the Family Peace Center, which she said will need up to 100,000 square feet as it grows in the future.
“We ultimately would like to offer medical services in the building,” she said. “So many survivors that come to that building are coming there directly … in various states of injury.”
Forward for Fun initiative
Amount: $280,000 at $140,000 per year
For the past two years, the city has provided $10,000 toward each of the 14 wards to go toward putting on events designed to help people connect and spur business after the coronavirus pandemic.
The initiative, called Forward for Fun, helped fund events such as the Rockford Boxing Classic in downtown, a musical celebration at Lino’s Restaurant and a parade and festival in Midtown, among other events.
The council’s decision will extend the program for 2024 and 2025.
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Public art displays
Amount: $200,000
The city plans to expand public art throughout Rockford, including the reestablishment of the Founders Landing sculpture that was put in storage as part of South Main Street construction.
The sculpture created by Gene Horvath of Rockford depicts the city’s founders — Germanicus Kent, Lewis Lemon, and Thatcher Blake — dragging a supply wagon through a swamp on their way to Rockford in 1834. The welded steel and bronze is called “Pulling Together” and weighs about 3,000 pounds, according to Rockford Register Star archives.
The sculpture was designed with the original installation site in mind in 1976, and it will require maintenance and repair before being reinstalled, according to Mary McNamara Bernsten, executive director of the Rockford Area Arts Council.
“The future site will need to be designed around the sculpture including the design, engineering, and landscaping components,” she said.
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McNamara said the sculpture’s importance was brought up by several people during Rockford Region Cultural Plan surveys. She said Joyce Higgins, the former executive director of the African American Resource Center at Booker Washington in Rockford, highlighted the historical importance of Lemon, an African American man and one of the Rockford’s founders. Horvath, the artist who created it, had said the statue corrected Rockford history by recognizing a Black man as one of the city’s founders.
“The cultural plan process illustrates the value of arts advocacy in real-time: Ms. Higgins wrote to me about the sculpture being in storage, and her concerns for its integrity and its reinstallation were shared by others,” McNamara Bernsten said. “The Arts Council shared its concerns with the city of Rockford leadership, and its reinstallation, in a place of prominence, was made a priority.”
Other portions of the money would go toward the installation of additional public art pieces.
Goodwill Excel Center
Amount: $600,000
Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois is developing plans to create an adult high school with child care at the former Gustafson’s Furniture space in North Towne Mall.
The $4 million project will be paid for by Goodwill, with the support of this and federal funding. The city has also made it one of its legislative priorities for the state to provide additional funding toward the center.
The Excel Center is a special charter school for adults to obtain a high school diploma, workforce training and dual credits while offering free child care and other support services.
Goodwill agencies run nearly 40 such schools around the country.
Beyer Stadium improvements
Amount: $400,000
Beyer Stadium, the former home of the famed Rockford Peaches women’s baseball team on 15th Avenue, played host in August to a U.S. Women’s National Team exhibition game.
Kat Williams, president of the International Women’s Baseball Center, told the city that there has been additional interest from Women’s Baseball World Cup, the women’s national team, Major League Baseball and the World Baseball Softball Confederation for future events at the historic stadium. However, more improvements are needed first.
“A field must meet certain standards to qualify for international competition and especially for the World Cup,” Williams wrote in a letter to the city. “Bringing Beyer Stadium up to an international level will not be a waste even if we are denied. There are a number of other tournament possibilities as well.”
She said local high school and college teams could also make use of the stadium after the improvements.
Made for Rockford campaign
Amount: $200,000
The Made for Rockford campaign is a partnership with the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and private-sector companies to showcase the best that the city has to offer.
The money would be used to reactivate advertising and regional and national public relations to draw people and business to Rockford.
Signage and landscaping
Amount: $425,000
The city wants to establish entry signs and landscaping at the main corridor entrances in Rockford.
“These entrances are our front door and are in desperate need of improvement,” Mayor Tom McNamara wrote in a social media post.
Neighborhood sign program
Amount: $100,000
The money will be used to help neighborhoods and neighborhood groups create signage and branding for their neighborhoods that installs a sense of identity and pride.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas