Just a decade ago, the city of Rockford, Illinois struggled with a host of economic and demographic challenges. The population was shrinking, home values were plummeting, and a growing number of properties sat vacant. In 2013, the Wall Street Journal named Rockford the “Underwater Mortgage Capital of America.”
Today, Rockford – the state’s largest city outside of the Chicago metropolitan area – is thriving by comparison: property values have increased by 56% since 2017, while the tax rate is the lowest it has been since 1984. At the same time, the number of vacant buildings has decreased by 17% and violent crime has fallen by 34%. “Everything has changed in Rockford,” says Tom McNamara, who was elected mayor in 2017.
Rockford boasts a rich history as a hub of furniture manufacturing, but like many other Rust Belt cities, the community struggled over the years to sustain its industrial and economic base. So, what explains this turnaround? Mayor McNamara credits, in part, a partnership with the National Resource Network (NRN)—led by Enterprise Advisors (Enterprise’s mission-driven consulting arm) and PFM—that began in 2017, and the multi-year financial plan and Neighborhood Revitalization Typology it produced.
Building on the multi-year financial plan produced by NRN-partner, PFM, Enterprise Advisors led a collaborative process that engaged city staff, community organizations, service providers, and civic leaders to craft a data-driven and actionable plan. A series of interviews, focus groups, and community workshops fed into the creation of the 2019 Rockford Neighborhood Revitalization Typology, a tool that provided a clear framework to address Rockford’s challenges and foster long-term revitalization.
In 2024, Enterprise Advisors worked with the city to update the 2019 typology using 2023 data. Using GIS technology, the team created a StoryMap that demonstrated notable progress and highlighted Rockford’s transformation into a growing and dynamic city. Enterprise Advisors recently spoke with Mayor McNamara to explore Rockford’s success, and to gain insights into the strategies and lessons that could serve as a model for similar communities.
What makes Rockford unique? Is there anything about the city’s history or culture people should know?
Rockford is unique because we are a diverse community that does not shy away from challenges. Working together as a community, the City of Rockford has seen growth in automotive, aerospace, and healthcare industries while undertaking a revitalization of its downtown and key corridors into the city making tourism an emerging economy. We even have our own international airport. Today Rockford is known as both the Forest City and the Garden City due to its heavily forested residential neighborhoods and proximity to many high-quality parks, forest preserves and a Japanese garden, arboretum and botanic garden, and an indoor conservatory garden and lagoon. While Rockford offers the lifestyle, education, healthcare and other social amenities you would find in other large cities, the city has a smaller town feel with the cost of living well below the national average.
When Enterprise initially worked in Rockford in 2018 and 2019, the city was facing a wide range of challenges, including population and job loss, high land and structural vacancy rates, declining property values, and city fiscal health challenges. Can you tell us what has changed over the last six to seven years?
Everything has changed in Rockford. When I took office in 2017, we faced a $156 million deficit over the next five years, our property values were dropping, vacant buildings were increasing year over year, infrastructure was crumbling, property values were dropping, and we were seeing little economic development. Our residents didn’t feel they were being invested in and that needed to change.
Today, we have passed eight years of balanced budgets and have reduced our property tax levy over all eight years. Our property values have increased by 56%, and our tax rate is the lowest it has been since 1984. We have seen a 34% decrease in violent crime and a 29% decrease in property crime. Vacant buildings are down 17%, and we have gained 4,000 jobs at our airport and attracted international brands, like the Chicago Blackhawks, Hard Rock, and IRONMAN. We have also seen economic development in every corner of our city. To address infrastructure, we have passed the four largest Capital Improvement plans in our city’s history and, in the summer of 2025, we will see more than $75M of work being done, which is three times the average annual investment.
Not only have we seen dramatic increases in our physical infrastructure and investments, but we have invested heavily into our human capital. We now have one of the most robust Promise programs in the county - where we pay for every qualified child to receive a college degree for free at Northern Illinois University and Rockford University. We will soon be opening the State’s first Excel Center, where residents can earn free high school diplomas while receiving free childcare and work force development. We developed innovative programs such as teaching at-risk youth how to lay sidewalk, while also improving our community. We even worked to make all the boards and commissions in our city reflective of our community, increasing the number of women on boards by 100% and minorities by 120%. This helped us create ownership and buy in from residents.
How has Rockford addressed its biggest challenges? What initiative did the city take after the study to attract residents and home buyers to Rockford and to attract significant employment opportunities or other kinds of economic stimulus?
For our finances, we listened to suggestions from our employees, brought in business leaders and used National Resource Network as municipal finance experts to provide recommendations. For the incredible expansion in infrastructure spending, we saw Federal and State agencies beginning to work on infrastructure bills, so we prepared early and spent a lot of time and money on engineering and planning. This way, we were prepared with shovel-ready projects when the money started to flow.
To enhance our neighborhoods, we created a land bank; we developed a community development financial institution; and we partnered with Habitat for Humanity on a critical home repair program to help ensure residents could have the dignity of staying in their homes while helping preserve the neighborhood’s housing stock. We also created programs to attract new residents, including Rockford Promise, and worked to increase our housing stock through our Property Tax Rebate Program. As part of the Property Tax Rebate Program, we waive property taxes for three years and waive plan review fees and water connection fees to anyone who builds new residential units. We established the first Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which provides loans to small businesses to renovate blighted or foreclosed homes.
We are also lead investors in a campaign called Made for Rockford. The campaign puts a big focus on people who’ve lived here before and might consider coming back. Through creative strategies like targeted ads and holiday billboards, we remind former residents of everything Rockford has to offer and why it’s a great place to call home again.
It’s not just about bringing people here; it’s about helping them stay. Events like our new resident mixer give newcomers the chance to meet others, build friendships and feel connected to the community. New residents also have the chance to connect with someone from our Go Team—a group of passionate, energetic volunteers created to be friendly guides and first friends for those settling into Rockford.
We also work directly with major employers to help attract top talent. When job applicants visit Rockford, the Go Team steps in to give personalized tours that highlight the area’s strengths.
Do you think the support the city received through the National Resource Network supported these changes? And if so, how?
Winning the grant and choosing to work with NRN, PFM, and Enterprise has truly been invaluable. They included our team and community. They constantly communicated with us, and there were never any surprises. Their finished product wasn’t meant to sit on a shelf and collect dust; it is a road map. I am very grateful to NRN, PFM and Enterprise.
What did you learn from seeing these changes in Rockford and what recommendations would you have for other cities who are facing the kinds of challenges Rockford has been working to address?
Just 10 years after naming Rockford the “Underwater Mortgage Capital of America” in 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported that Rockford had become “America’s hottest housing market in the country after an improbable turnaround.” From this, Rockford learned that persistence toward a common goal is the key to success. It’s important to remember not to lose hope when a community’s socio-economic trends are stagnant or not heading in a positive direction. Through hard work, determination, and the right decision-making from leadership, other communities can also see lifechanging results in their neighborhoods that impact the social wellbeing of the region.
Other communities facing similar economic and social challenges can consider these strategies:
- Establish a Land Bank Authority to effectively and efficiently fight blight for those properties with value-diminishing back-taxes or other liens and liabilities tied to a property which prevent it from being sold on the private market.
- Utilize code enforcement to proactively address problem properties and landlords before code violations lead to more drastic measures such as condemnation and eviction of tenants. When this occurs, the property is generally off the market for an extended period of time resulting in less living options, especially for low-income populations. Establish a vacant property ordinance that requires registration of the vacant property and filing a plan for use or sale.
- Fund and implement Critical Repair Programs for residential properties such as rehabilitation programs that replace roofs, windows, and improve the overall energy efficiency of the residents. Advocate for a pool of funding to be developed by local and regional banks that helps support residential property improvement and use local CDFI’s to run those focused programs.
You don’t have to have all the answers. You have to be willing to ask for help, suggestions and ideas. You will be amazed at what great ideas come from often unexpected sources. Always work with others and be willing to innovate.
What do you see as major focal points or priorities for Rockford moving forward? Are you concerned about affordability challenges or do you see Rockford’s housing market as still recovering?
Moving forward, the city of Rockford will focus on economic development, improving our neighborhoods through public infrastructure investments and on public safety, and continuing to invest in the Rockford Promise program. The Rockford Promise program offers tuition assistance for students at Rock Valley College, Rockford University, and Northern Illinois University to Rockford high school graduates who meet the eligibility criteria. Recently, the program was expanded to allow private school graduates who live within the city to apply also.
Our biggest priority moving forward is the development of new housing. Rockford recently conducted a Housing Needs Assessment & Market Study. The results of the study highlighted expected job growth and other supply-side factors that estimated that the demand for new housing within the city of Rockford over the next ten years is expected to be between 3,200 – 9,100 units (by 2033). The report goes on the say that all types of housing is needed at all affordability levels as there is a general lack of available homes for rent or purchase compared to what a healthy housing market should have.
The city will continue to use our Rental Registry and Vacant and Foreclosed Property Registries to monitor properties and make sure owners are keeping our assets productive, or moving them into productivity, so that neighborhoods experience revitalization and growth.
We need to have the courage to continue to do the things that are working, while also having the courage to stop doing programs when they aren’t. I am concerned about affordability. We need more residential units in Rockford, and we need them quickly.