Rockford, IL's New Strategy For Tackling Vacant Properties

Tired of looking at all the decaying, vacant properties sprinkled throughout Rockford, Illinois? Don't worry, the City has a new plan for that.

Johnny Vincent

A Bad Look For Rockford

I've lived in the Rockford area my whole life, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me sad to see so many areas throughout the city empty, neglected, and abandoned.

Neighborhoods and buildings that I grew up thinking were so fancy and grand, now look old and forgotten. They're like giant road blocks in the path of Rockford's bright future, and they really hurt our property values too.

I get that times are tough and that people move on, but all these vacant properties are a real bad look for our city. Thankfully, the City of Rockford has developed a new plan for dealing with vacant properties sooner, rather that later.

Rockford's New Approach to Dealing With Vacant Properties

Up until now, the City of Rockford has had a reactive approach to dealing with vacant properties throughout the city. Essentially, they wait until neighbors complain about them to do anything about it, but then it's too late.

Google Street View, Canva

So, instead of waiting for people to complain about them, the City of Rockford is going start identifying properties in danger of abandonment.

A recent City of Rockford post says;

To improve outcomes, the City has expanded its use of Tolemi — our data integration and insights platform — to better track vacant and foreclosing properties. By analyzing additional data points and allowing field staff to enter real-time inspection information, we can more quickly and accurately identify potentially vacant properties.

Ideally, this new approach will allow city officials to contact owners of vulnerable properties and work with them to get the property, sold, fixed up, etc.

Honestly, it sounds like Rockford’s strategy is simple: stop reacting, start preventing, and build stronger neighborhoods in the process. I'm on board for that!