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Rockford, Illinois

 
Rockford, Illinois

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Rockford, Illinois



 
 
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River
Rock River (Illinois)

The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 285 miles long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois.It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately 17 miles south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin....
 in far northern Illinois. Rockford is often referred to as "The Forest City" and is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois
Winnebago County, Illinois

Winnebago County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 278,418. Its county seat is Rockford, Illinois, Illinois....
, USA
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. As reported in the 2000 U.S. census, the city was home to 155,115 people, while in the 2006 estimate, it is said to have a population of 168,138, making it the third largest city in Illinois after Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 and Aurora
Aurora, Illinois

Aurora is the second largest city in the United States state of Illinois, with a population of 168,181 , and part of Chicagoland. The city refers to itself as "The City of Lights" because it was one of the first cities in the United States to implement an all-electric street lighting system in 1881....
. The metropolitan area
Rockford metropolitan area

The Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in north-central Illinois, anchored by the city of Rockford, Illinois....
 has 339,178 residents as of the 2000 census.






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Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River
Rock River (Illinois)

The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 285 miles long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois.It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately 17 miles south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin....
 in far northern Illinois. Rockford is often referred to as "The Forest City" and is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois
Winnebago County, Illinois

Winnebago County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 278,418. Its county seat is Rockford, Illinois, Illinois....
, USA
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. As reported in the 2000 U.S. census, the city was home to 155,115 people, while in the 2006 estimate, it is said to have a population of 168,138, making it the third largest city in Illinois after Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 and Aurora
Aurora, Illinois

Aurora is the second largest city in the United States state of Illinois, with a population of 168,181 , and part of Chicagoland. The city refers to itself as "The City of Lights" because it was one of the first cities in the United States to implement an all-electric street lighting system in 1881....
. The metropolitan area
Rockford metropolitan area

The Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in north-central Illinois, anchored by the city of Rockford, Illinois....
 has 339,178 residents as of the 2000 census. During the latter part of the 20th century Rockford was the second largest city in Illinois. The current mayor is Lawrence J. Morrissey
Larry Morrissey

Lawrence J. "Larry" Morrissey is the Mayor of Rockford, IL. As an independent, Morrissey defeated Democratic Party incumbent Douglas P. Scott in the 2005 mayoral elections after trying in his first run in 2001 with a populism campaign promising pothole, public schools reforms, lower property taxes and a revitalized downtown....
, an independent
Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent is a politician who is not affiliated with any political party. Independents may hold a Centrism viewpoint between those of major political parties, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do not feel that any major party addresses....
 elected to a four year term in April .

Geography

Rockford is located at (42.269770, -89.069754). According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
, the city has a total area of 56.7 square miles (146.9 km²), of which, 56.0 square miles (145.1 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it is water. Neighboring communities that border Rockford, and are considered an integral part of the Rockford metro area, are Loves Park
Loves Park, Illinois

Loves Park is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. In recent years, the city spread across the eastern Winnebago county line and now reaches into Boone County, Illinois....
, Machesney Park
Machesney Park, Illinois

Machesney Park is a village located in Winnebago County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,759 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Rockford metropolitan area....
, Belvidere
Belvidere

Belvidere is the name of communities in South Africa and in the United States, and of individual properties:...
, and the villages of Winnebago
Winnebago

Winnebago can refer to:* The former name of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin*A popular brand of recreational vehicles, manufactured by Winnebago Industries, of Forest City, Iowa...
, Roscoe
Roscoe

Roscoe or Rosco is the name of many things:...
, Rockton, and Cherry Valley
Cherry Valley, Illinois

The village of Cherry Valley, Illinois is a small community located on the south east side of Rockford, Illinois in the Kishwaukee River valley in Winnebago County, Illinois and Boone County, Illinois....
. The Rock River
Rock River (Illinois)

The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 285 miles long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois.It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately 17 miles south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin....
 is the traditional center of the Rockford area and is its most recognizable natural feature.

Climate

Due to its location in the midwest
Midwestern United States

The Midwestern United States is one of the four geographic regions within the United States of America that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau....
, Rockford's climate contains four clearly defined season
Season

A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the Axial tilt....
s. Summers are usually very warm with the high temperature in July, the hottest month, being 87 °F (28 °C). The winter months can bring bitterly cold air masses from Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. The average high temperature in January, the coldest month, is 27 °F (-3 °C). June is Rockford's wettest month while February is the driest. During a typical year, Rockford receives 36.3in (922 mm) of precipitation.

Rockford and surrounding areas are prone to violent thunderstorm
Thunderstorm

File:FoggDam-NT.jpgA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its effect: thunder....
s during the months of March, April, May, and June. On April 21, 1967, the neighboring town of Belvidere
Belvidere, Illinois

Belvidere is a city in Boone County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,820 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boone County, Illinois....
 was struck by a violent F4
Fujita scale

The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation....
 tornado
Tornado

A tornado is a violent, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud....
, in which twenty-four people were killed and hundreds more injured at Belvidere's High School. Other severe weather events, such as hail
Hail

Hail is a form of Precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice . Hailstones on Earth usually consist mostly of ice and measure between 5 and 150 millimeters in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms....
 and strong winds are common in these storms. On July 5, 2003 at 04:03, microburst
Microburst

A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to but distinguishable from tornadoes which generally have convergent damage....
s caused major damage on both the east and west sides of Rockford. Approximately 70,000 people were without power, with many on the west side suffering in the heat without electricity for a week. It took months for the damage to be completely cleared, but because the storm struck so early in the morning there were no injuries or fatalities. However, these sometimes violent storms bring the majority of summer rainfall.

The city is also prone to severe snow
Snow

Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. The process of this precipitation is called snowfall....
storms in winter, and blizzard
Blizzard

A blizzard is a severe winter storm condition characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, and heavy blowing snow. Blizzards are formed when a high pressure area, also known as a ridge, interacts with a low pressure area; this results in the advection of air from the high pressure zone into the low pressure area....
s are frequent winter occurrences. On January 13, 1979 over 9 inches (23 cm) of snow fell on Rockford in just a few hours during one of the strongest blizzards in the city's history. The city averages approximately 36 inches (92 cm) of snowfall in a normal winter, but greater amounts are common. The snowiest winter in the history of the city was the winter of 1978-1979, when 75 inches (1.91 m) of snow fell.

Floods


Over the past years Rockford has recorded some of its worst flooding to date. Five inches of rain were dumped onto Rockford on September 4, 2006, leading to the destruction of twenty homes while damaging hundreds more. Less than a year later on August 7, 2007, Rockford was again hit by rain when between 5-7 inches of rain fell. Many streets, including major thoroughfares like North Alpine Road and East State Street, were flooded, along with fears of the Alpine Dam breaking. The following day, Governor Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich

Milorad "Rod" R. Blagojevich is a politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois of the U.S. state of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. Blagojevich was the second Serbian American elected governor in the United States....
 declared both Rockford and Winnebago County a state disaster area
Disaster area

A disaster area is a region or a locale heavily damaged by either natural hazards, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, technological hazards including nuclear and radiation accidents, or sociological hazards like riots, terrorism or war....
. With this declaration, he dispatched both the Illinois Emergency Management Agency
Illinois Emergency Management Agency

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency purpose is to To protect the State of Illinois through approaches of Emergency Management and Homeland Security....
 and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is a cabinet-level department of the state government of Illinois. It is headquartered in the state capital of Springfield, Illinois....
 to assist the city. Debris removal, law enforcement, damage assessment, and other duties were offered by the governor.

Rockford's worst flooding though to date was on July 18, 1952, when a total of eleven inches (279 mm) of rain deluged the city. This caused the drowning death of two residents, and the destruction of $1 million in property. This would lead though to a multi-million-dollar drainage program.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F (°C) 63 (17.2) 70 (21.1) 85 (29.4) 91 (32.7) 95 (35.0) 101 (38.3) 103 (39.4) 104 (40.0) 102 (38.8) 90 (32.2) 76 (24.4) 67 (19.4)
Norm High °F (°C) 27.2 (-2.6) 33.0 (0.6) 45.5 (7.5) 59.1 (15.1) 71.2 (21.8) 79.9 (26.6) 83.1 (28.4) 80.9 (27.2) 73.9 (23.3) 61.8 (16.6) 45.5 (7.5) 32.0 (0.0)
Norm Low °F (°C) 10.8 (-11.8) 16.3 (-8.7) 26.7 (-2.9) 36.8 (2.7) 47.9 (8.8) 57.6 (14.2) 62.6 (17.0) 60.9 (16.0) 51.8 (11.0) 40.1 (4.5) 29.0 (-1.7) 16.9 (-8.4)
Rec Low °F (°C) -27 (-32.8) -24 (-31.1) -11 (-23.8) 5 (-15.0) 24 (-4.4) 37 (2.8) 43 (6.1) 41 (5.0) 27 (-2.8) 15 (-9.4) -10 (-23.3) -24 (-31.1)
Precip in (mm) 1.41 (35.8) 1.34 (34.0) 2.39 (60.7) 3.62 (91.9) 4.03 (102.4) 4.80 (121.9) 4.10 (104.1) 4.21 (106.9) 3.47 (88.1) 2.57 (65.3) 2.63 (66.8) 2.06 (52.3)
Source: USTravelWeather.com


Demographics


As of the census
Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
 of 2000, there were 150,115 people, 59,158 households, and 37,328 families residing in the city. Because the city is the largest in the area, the surrounding towns are considered to be Rockford's metropolitan area
Rockford metropolitan area

The Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in north-central Illinois, anchored by the city of Rockford, Illinois....
, which has a combined population of approximately 339,178 persons. The population density
Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
 of the city prime was 1,034.8/km² (2,680.4/sq mi). There were 63,570 housing units at an average density of 1,135.1/sq mi (438.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.81% White, 17.37% African American, 0.32% Native American, 2.20% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.80% from other races
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, and 2.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.18% of the population.

There are 59,158 household
Household

The household is "the basic residential unit in which production , consumption , inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonomous with family"....
s of which 31.5% include children under the age of 18, 43.8% were married couples
Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
 living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $55,667, and the median income for a family was $65,465. Males had a median income of $37,098 versus $25,421 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone....
 for the city was $19,781. 14.0% of the population and 10.5% of families were below the poverty line. 19.6% of those under the age of 18 and 8.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty
Poverty

Poverty is the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine our quality of life. It may also include the lack of access to opportunities such as education and employment which aid the escape from poverty and/or allow one to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens....
 line.

Rockford surpassed Peoria as Illinois' second largest city in the late 1950s, and held onto that position for nearly half a century before being dislodged by a special census being held in Aurora in 2003. Note that Rockford was not recounted at the same time so this is not necessarily an accurate ranking.

Law and government

Rockford City Hall

Township

See Rockford Township
Rockford Township, Winnebago County, Illinois

Rockford Township is located in Winnebago County, Illinois, Illinois, USA. The population was 178,853 at the United States Census 2000. It is the largest township, in terms of area, in Illinois....


History

Rockford was first settled in 1834-1835 by Germanicus Kent, Thatcher Blake, and Lewis Lemon, who came from Galena
Galena, Illinois

Galena is the largest city in, and county seat of, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Illinois in the United States with an estimated population of 3,396 in 2006....
 and established themselves on the west bank of Rock River, and Daniel Shaw Haight, who founded a settlement on the east bank. (Lemon, a slave, later bought his freedom, but stayed in the area as a truck farmer.) Before the Civil War, the area was dominated by settlers from New York and New England, while Southern Illinois was dominated by settlers from Kentucky and Tennessee, many of them former slave owners. Halfway between Chicago and Galena
Galena, Illinois

Galena is the largest city in, and county seat of, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Illinois in the United States with an estimated population of 3,396 in 2006....
, the community was briefly known as Midway, but quickly became known as Rockford, because of the excellent ford
Ford (crossing)

A ford is a place in a watercourse that is shallow enough to be crossed by wading, on horseback, or in a wheeled vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low....
 across the Rock River
Rock River (Illinois)

The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 285 miles long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois.It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately 17 miles south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin....
. A post office was established in 1837. The settlement was incorporated as a village in 1839, and chartered as a city in 1852.

The first weekly newspaper was published in 1840 and the first successful daily newspaper appeared in 1877. Between 1890 and 1930 the city had three daily newspapers. Rockford Female Seminary was chartered in 1847, became Rockford College
Rockford College

Rockford College is a private United States liberal arts college in Rockford, Illinois, Illinois. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name in 1892....
 in 1892, and became fully coeducational in 1958. Its best known graduate is Jane Addams
Jane Addams

Jane Addams was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement, and one of the first American women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize....
 (RFS Class of 1881), the founder of Chicago's Hull House
Hull House

Hull House was co-founded in 1889, in Chicago, Illinois, by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr and is located in the Near West Side, Chicago Community areas of Chicago of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, Illinois....
 and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel's will , the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for :wikt:fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the h...
 in 1931. Rockford Public Library, the second such institution in Illinois, first opened to the public in August 1872; the library's first dedicated building, a Carnegie library
Carnegie library

Carnegie libraries are libraries which were built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. More than 2,500 Carnegie libraries were built, including those belonging to Public library and university library systems....
, was completed by 1902.

Although Rockford was a sleepy country village for about the first ten years, it thereafter began to expand rapidly in size and industry and became the seat
County seat

A county seat or parish seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there....
 of Winnebago County
Winnebago County, Illinois

Winnebago County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 278,418. Its county seat is Rockford, Illinois, Illinois....
. In 1851, the Rockford Water Power Company was organized and in 1852 the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
Galena and Chicago Union Railroad

The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was a railroad running west from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa and Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois....
 reached the city. These two events, which brought inexpensive power and transportation to the area, changed Rockford forever. By 1860 Rockford had become a significant, growing industrial center, noted for production of the John H. Manny reaper and other agricultural machinery. By the 1880s a furniture industry was begun, using the talents of Swedish craftsmen and capitalists, and by the first half of the 20th century Rockford was the second largest furniture manufacturing center in the United States (behind Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 197,800. It is the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Michigan....
). Many of the furniture companies were cooperative
Cooperative

A cooperative is defined by the International Co-operative Alliance Statement on the Co-operative Identity as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled business....
s, reflecting a different business approach from that of the old Yankee entrepreneur, with laborers and craftsmen holding significant power. The agricultural implement industry was already in decline by the First World War
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, and the furniture industry was severely damaged by the Great Depression
Great Depression

File:International depression.pngThe Great Depression was a worldwide economic Recession starting in most places in 1929 and ending at different times in the 1930s or early 1940s for different countries....
 and the Second World War
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. By the end of the 1960s both were extinct in the city.

Life Magazine described Rockford in 1949: "It is as nearly typical as any city can be". However, from 1950 to 1989, more than half of the earnings in Winnebago County came from manufacturing, far above the national average. Rockford's 20th century industry revolved around machine tools, heavy machinery, automotive, aerospace, fastener and cabinet hardware products, and packaging devices and concepts. The city's industrial background has produced many important and interesting inventions, among them the Nelson knitting machine, airbrush, electric brake, electric garage door opener, dollar bill changer, and electronic dartboard. Some defunct Rockford concerns of historical interest are: Air Brush Manufacturing Company, Free Sewing Machine Company, Haddorff Piano Company, Hanson Clock Company, Hess & Hopkins Leather Company, Norse Pottery Company, Rockford Brewing Company, Rockford Silver Plate Company, and Rockford Watch Company. Woodward Governor Company, an innovator in control systems for large machinery and aircraft propulsion, originated in Rockford.

Rockford has been known as a town that makes toys. The Testors Company still makes model kits and paint and glue supplies for these kits. The Nylint
Nylint

The Nylint Corporation was founded in 1937 by Bernard Klint of Rockford, Illinois. His uncle, David Nyberg, supplied much of the initial capital to start the company....
 company produced heavy duty metal scale toys of construction equipment, such as dump trucks, from 1946 to about 2001, when they went out of business. Tootsie toys
Tootsie toys

TootsieToy is a manufacturer of die cast toy cars and other toy vehicles. The company, that would later become known as Tootisetoys, made their debut in 1906 when a Chicago based company, Dowst Brothers, made a miniature die casting toy of a Ford Model T....
, headquartered in Chicago, had a satellite factory in Rockford, where small single piece die cast cars where made for many years. Although not toys themselves, the red-heeled socks which are used for sock monkey
Sock monkey

A sock monkey is a stuffed toy made from socks and fashioned in the likeness of a monkey. Sock monkeys hold an important place in the culture of North America as a symbol of ingenuity....
s were originally manufactured in Rockford. The industrial industry in Rockford has been led by Sundstrand Corporation
Sundstrand Corporation

Sundstrand Corporation was founded in 1926 as a merger of the Rockford Tool Company and Rockford Milling Machine Company in Rockford, Illinois. It was known as Sundstrand Machine Tool Company until 1959 when shareholders voted to change the name to Sundstrand Corporation....
 which was the merger of Rockford Tool Company and the Rockford Milling Machine Company in the early 20th century. Hamilton Sundstrand
Hamilton Sundstrand

Hamilton Sundstrand, is a global corporation that manufactures and supports aerospace and industry products for worldwide markets. It was formed from the merger of Hamilton Standard and Sundstrand Corporation in 1999....
 (acquired by United Technologies in 1999) has manufactured many industrial, aviation, and aerospace products.

The USS Rockford
USS Rockford (PF-48)

USS Rockford , a Tacoma class frigate frigate, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rockford, Illinois.Rockford, projected as PG-156, was laid down 28 August 1943 as PF-48 by Consolidated Steel Corporation, Los Angeles, California; launched 27 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs....
, a Tacoma class frigate
Tacoma class frigate

The Tacoma class of frigates served in the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Tacoma, Washington, the Tacoma class design was based on the British River class frigates, primarily distinguished by the pole foremast and lighter main guns ....
 named for the city, was commissioned in March 1944 and earned two service star
Service star

A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a Awards and decorations of the United States military which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award....
s during World War II. Camp Grant
Camp Grant

Camp Grant may refer to:* Camp Grant * Camp Grant , site of the Camp Grant massacre....
, a training depot used during World Wars I and II, was torn down in 1947 and became the site of the Chicago Rockford International Airport by late 1954, and of Seth B. Atwood Park in 1956. Machesney airport, located north of the city, originally a private airport starting in 1927, was later used by the army air corps during World War II, later was a municipal airport and is now no longer an airport but home to the Machesney Park Mall.

During the early to late 1940s the Rockford Peaches
Rockford Peaches

The Rockford Peaches were a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing out of Rockford, Illinois for the entire existence of the league from 1943 to 1954....
 (of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954....
) were one of the first all-female baseball
Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport of nine players each. The goal of baseball is to score run by hitting a thrown Baseball with a baseball bat and touching a series of four markers called base arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team take turns hitting against...
 teams in the world. They played their home games at Beyer Stadium
Beyer Stadium

The Beyer Stadium, one mile from downtown in Rockford, Illinois, was the home of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's Rockford Peaches from 1943 to 1954....
 which was razed several years ago. A placard displays where the stadium once stood, along with additional historical information. Although the 1992 motion picture "A League of Their Own
A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own is a 1992 in film comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ....
" features the Rockford Peaches, all of the characters playing on the team were fictional, and the team did not participate in the league championship series in 1943 as depicted in the film. The Peaches won the league championship in 1945, 1948, 1949, and 1950.

The number of impressive movie palaces built in the 1920s and early 1930s speaks to the thriving economy Rockford had at the time. The Coronado Theater
Coronado Theater

The Coronado Theatre, located at 314 North Main Street in Rockford, Illinois, is a 2,400 seat theater designed by architect Frederick J. Klein. The theater cost $1.5 million to build, and opened on October 9, 1927....
 theater was the largest and most expansive of all these movie theaters in Rockford, complete with an orchestra pit, double balcony, highly ornate design and full array of theatrical and stage equipment. Other remarkable theaters in Rockford included the Midway, Times, and State theaters.

Rockford was well known for its elm trees, being the reason for its nickname, the Forest City. But in the mid 1950s an epidemic of Dutch Elm disease
Dutch elm disease

Dutch elm disease is a fungus disease of elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, it has been accidentally introduced into Americas and Europe, where it has devastated native populations of elms which had not had the opportunity to evolve resistance to the disease....
 more or less wiped out the population of Elm trees. However, Rockford is still heavily lined with trees. Of note are the parks and boulevard street layouts in certain parts of the city. Neighborhood parks and wide common grassy/forested areas forming boulevards are found in the older parts of the city. Many of the parks were part of the street layout put down in the late 1890s, early 1900s when subdivisions of that era were created. These parks typically were an entire city block, or in some cases larger. They would typically have a bowery, and sometimes a cement-lined pool. The boulevards tend to be in slightly newer subdivisions built in the 1920s.

The 1960s saw expansion of the manufacturing segment in the area. Near the outskirts of Rockford in Belvidere
Belvidere, Illinois

Belvidere is a city in Boone County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,820 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boone County, Illinois....
, a Chrysler
Chrysler

Chrysler LLC is an American automobile manufacturer that has manufactured automobiles since 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler ....
 car factory was built in 1965 which initially assembled the Chrysler Newport and other large cars and now produces the Dodge Caliber
Dodge Caliber

The Dodge Caliber is a compact car produced by the Dodge division of the Chrysler Group. It replaced the Dodge Neon, and went on sale in the spring of 2006 as a 2007 model year vehicle....
 and similar cars. Sundstrand, now Hamilton Sundstrand
Hamilton Sundstrand

Hamilton Sundstrand, is a global corporation that manufactures and supports aerospace and industry products for worldwide markets. It was formed from the merger of Hamilton Standard and Sundstrand Corporation in 1999....
, a division of United Technologies also expanded during this time period making aircraft parts.

Starting as early as the 1990s Rockford has had the ignominious honor of being listed at times as one America's worst cities by the Rand McNally
Rand McNally

Rand McNally is the preeminent United States publisher of maps, atlases, and globes for travel, reference, commercial, and educational uses. It also provides online consumer street maps and directions, as well as commercial transportation routing software and mileage data....
 corporation and Money magazine, sometimes being ranked one of the top ten worst cities. This may have been due to the lack of jobs and high number of outdated or closed factories. Crime on the west side of town was endemic, with huge areas of old established neighborhoods in extreme blight. The homicide rate in these areas was quite high. Many houses were vacant with no one wishing to buy them. The city government has developed many programs to attempt to address these problems and has seen some success. In 2005 Rockford received top honors in the America in Bloom contest with the award being 4 Blooms Tidiness.

In early 2007 the city of Rockford city council voted to end the 90 year old vehicle sticker program. The vehicle sticker was a way of raising tax revenue and it required Rockford residents to display, every year, a new sticker/decal on the inside of registered vehicle windshields. The last sticker, required through the end of 2007, depicted artwork from Rockford's hometown celebrity rock group Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick is a United States Rock music band formed in the 1970s and consisting of Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E. Carlos ....
, from their latest album called Rockford.

Rockford is also the home of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps
Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps

The Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, founded in 1956, is a World Class Drum and bugle corps based in Rockford, Illinois, and is a member corps of Drum Corps International....
.

In February 2009, The Wall Street Journal published a series of stories on Rockford and its mayor focusing on various challenges faced by the city, including higher unemployment and lower education levels of workers compared to some cities.

Transportation


The airport is home to United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc. , commonly referred to as UPS, is the world's largest package delivery company. UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 200 countries and territories around the world....
's second largest air-hub. The Chicago Rockford International Airport is presently ranked as the twenty-second largest cargo airport in the nation when measured by land weight.

Rockford is at the intersection of three major highways: I-90 (Northwest Tollway
Northwest Tollway

The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway in Illinois is a 79 mile segment of Interstate 90 from Interstate 190 in far northwest Chicago to Illinois Route 75, one mile south of the Wisconsin state line....
), US-20, and I-39. I-90 was completed in the early 1960s, providing a link from Rockford to both Madison
Madison

Madison may refer to:*Madison , a given name and a surname...
 and Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
. I-90/I-39 joins I-43 just north of Rockford, linking the city with Milwaukee. The US-20 bypass around Rockford was completed in 1965. The Wallenberg Expressway
Wallenberg expressway

The Raoul Wallenberg Expressway, originally known as the Woodruff Expressway, was a controversial plan to link downtown Rockford, Illinois to Interstate 39....
 was a proposed highway that would have linked downtown Rockford with US-20 and I-90. Construction on I-39 south of Rockford began in 1984.

Passenger rail service is planned for expansion in Illinois and Rockford will likely become a destination. In 2006 the Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative
Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative

The Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative is a body formed from county and municipal governments and agencies in the north-central region of the United States of America state of Illinois, defined as those areas to the north and west of Chicago metropolitan area, principally Rockford, Illinois and Belvidere, Illinois....
 proposed extending Metra
Metra

Metra is a regional rail system that serves the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States and surrounding suburbs. The railroad serves over 200 stations on 11 different rail lines across the Regional Transportation Authority 's six-county service area providing over 80 million rides annually....
 train service from the western Chicago suburbs to Rockford. Additional passenger service is being considered via Amtrak
Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide Inter-city rail train#Passenger trains service in the United States....
 through the Blackhawk Area Rail Coalition. While service (via Amtrak's Black Hawk
Black Hawk (Amtrak)

The Black Hawk was an Amtrak route from Chicago, Illinois, Illinois, to Dubuque, Iowa, Iowa, using Budd Company rail diesel cars between 1974 and approximately 1978 when the RDCs were replaced with Amfleet equipment using EMD F40PH diesel locomotives....
) was cut in 1981, trains could begin carrying passengers in and out of Rockford as soon as 2010.

Rockford is served by several different freight railroad lines, such as Union Pacific, Canadian National, and the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern
Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad

The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad was a Class II railroad operating in the north central United States. The IC&E is jointly owned with the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad by Cedar American Rail Holdings, making the combined system the largest class II railroad in the US....
. Rochelle
Rochelle, Illinois

Rochelle is a city in Ogle County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,424 at the 2000 census. As of the 2005 estimate, the population had risen to 9,712....
, a community of 10,000, south of Rockford is home to Union Pacific Railroad’s Global III Intermodal Facility. The complex is one of the largest intermodal facilities in the world. Construction on the state-of-the-art facility was completed in 2003 in Rochelle due to the close proximity to interstate highways and rail routes.

Public transportation is very limited in Rockford, city bus routes are not at the level of other major cities and run less often.

Looking into the future

The Rockford economy has suffered since the decline of the manufacturing industry in the late 1980s. Once a national leader in manufacturing and industry, the focus of the local economy has been forced to change. Many of the "family-owned" companies that once inhabited Rockford were bought out by larger companies, the larger companies then relocated the products being made to lower wage parts of the United States or sent them overseas altogether. The city's new focus relies on high-technology businesses, tourism generated by outstanding museums and a great park system, and the westward growth of the Chicago metropolitan area.

As of 2006, new commercial and residential development is taking place in the downtown area. The city is also considering plans for a Convention Center, Casino, and Riverwalk. The Main Street Corridor (Illinois Route 2
Illinois Route 2

Illinois Route 2 is a north-south state road in northern Illinois. It currently starts at Illinois Route 40 in Sterling, Illinois and ends at the Wisconsin state line north of South Beloit, Illinois, very near the intersection with U.S....
) is also expected to be redeveloped. Construction from the downtown area, south to US Highway 20 is expected to begin in 2007. Plans for 2007 also mark a major renovation of the MetroCentre in downtown Rockford.

On September 28, 2007, Rick Nielsen
Rick Nielsen

Rick Nielsen is the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Cheap Trick. For the band's first few albums, Nielsen wrote the majority of the material himself....
, lead guitarist of the rock band Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick is a United States Rock music band formed in the 1970s and consisting of Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E. Carlos ....
, announced plans for a $25 Million restaurant and hotel on the city's far northeast side called "Rick's." The restaurant will have a music theme featuring thousands of guitars and memorabilia that Mr. Nielsen has collected. Groundbreaking is expected in late 2007 with a grand opening in the second half of 2008.

Rockford school system


Post-secondary

Rockford, Illinois is the site of Rockford Business College, Rockford College
Rockford College

Rockford College is a private United States liberal arts college in Rockford, Illinois, Illinois. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name in 1892....
 and Rock Valley College
Rock Valley College

Rock Valley College is a community college with several locations in the Rockford, Illinois area....
. In addition, it hosts several satellite branches of other schools, including Judson College (based in Elgin)
Judson College

Judson College may refer to one of two tertiary institutions in Illinois and Alabama:*Judson University *Judson College *Judson College, a forerunner of Yangon University...
, Northern Illinois University (based in DeKalb)
Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University is a public university located in DeKalb, Illinois, Illinois, United States. It was founded on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P....
, Rasmussen College
Rasmussen College

Rasmussen College is a Regionally Accredited private, for-profit college offering Bachelor's and Associate's degrees at multiple campuses in Minnesota including Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Eagan, Minnesota, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Lake Elmo, Minnesota, Mankato, Minnesota, Moorhead, Minnesota and St....
, and the University of Illinois College of Medicine (based in Chicago)
University of Illinois College of Medicine

The University of Illinois College of Medicine is the country's largest medical school with more than 2600 medical students and residents, and offers medical education programs at four geographic Illinois sites: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana-Champaign....
.

Rockford College is best known for graduating Jane Addams
Jane Addams

Jane Addams was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement, and one of the first American women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize....
, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel's will , the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for :wikt:fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the h...
 in 1931 for her efforts to promote international peace and justice. Laura Jane Addams (1860 - 1935) entered what was then Rockford Female Seminary in 1877 and became the first graduate to receive a B.A. degree from the newly accredited baccalaureate institution in 1882 (the school was renamed Rockford College in 1892).

Public School District 205

The Rockford Public School District covers about and serves over 27,000 students. It is the third largest school district
School district

School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public elementary school and high school schools. They exist mostly in the United States, where they operate nearly all government-funded schools....
 in the state, with 40 elementary schools, seven middle schools, and four high school
High school

High school is the name used in some parts of the world to describe an institution which provides all or part of secondary education. The term originated in Scotland and spread to the New World countries as the high prestige that the Scottish educational system had at the time led several countries to employ Scottish educators to develop the...
s (Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson High School, Rockford, Illinois

For schools with a similar name, see Jefferson High School.Thomas Jefferson High School is a high school in Rockford, Illinois....
, Guilford, Rockford East High School, and Auburn
Rockford Auburn High School

Auburn High School is a public high school located in Rockford, Illinois, United States of America. In addition to serving the west side of Rockford for grades 9-12, it also houses the high school portions of the Gifted Program , the Creative and Performing Arts Program, and the only Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program left in Rock...
).

The district has seen heavy criticism over the past 30 years, as aging schools have become an issue, and several legal issues have drained the district's resources.

Private Schools

Additionally, Rockford supports 27 sectarian and nonsectarian private schools ranging from elementary to secondary education.

Points of interest

The Rockford area is known as an outdoor destination, especially in the non-winter months. Numerous forest preserves surround the Kishwaukee River valley, five miles (8 km) southeast of the downtown area. Rock Cut State Park is located within the county to the northeast. Both the Rockford Park District and Winnebago County Forest Preserve District own and operate numerous golf courses as well. In fact, Golf Magazine called Aldeen Golf Club one of 50 excellent national golf courses one can play for under $50. Aldeen was ranked #38 in the nation in 2004.

Rockford's Anderson Japanese Gardens
Anderson Japanese Gardens

The Anderson Japanese Gardens is a group of Japanese gardens located in Rockford, Illinois....
 has been ranked the top Japanese garden
Japanese garden

, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhism temples and old Japanese castles....
 in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. The garden was designed by Hoichi Kurisu
Hoichi Kurisu

Hoichi Kurisu is a noted designer of Japanese gardens, active in the United States.Kurisu studied landscape design and construction under Kenzo Ogata in Tokyo, Japan....
. The Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden
Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden

Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden is a nonprofit arboretum and botanical garden located at 2715 South Main Street, Rockford, Illinois. It is open daily except for major holidays; an admission fee is charged....
 is also a popular attraction. The facility contains of rare trees and shrubs.

Burpee Museum of Natural History
Burpee Museum of Natural History

The Burpee Museum of Natural History is located along the Rock River in downtown Rockford, Illinois, Illinois at 737 North Main Street....
, located just north of downtown, is home to Jane the Rockford T-Rex. The Discovery Center Museum contains a large and well-respected interactive children's science exhibit. The Rockford Art Museum completes the entire museum campus.

Another point of interest is the Coronado Theatre, an ornately decorated vaudeville
Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a genre of a variety show prevalent on the theatre in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. It developed from many sources, including the concert saloon, minstrel show, freak shows, dime museums, and literary burlesque....
 movie theater located in Downtown Rockford. The theatre was completely restored in 1999. The tallest building in Rockford is the former Faust Hotel
Faust Hotel

The Faust Landmark, formerly known as the Faust Hotel and Tebala Towers, is located on East State Street, is one of the largest buildings in downtown Rockford, Illinois, Illinois, United States....
. It was built in 1929 and has many art deco features. It has a tower several stories above the rest of the building, topping off at 15 stories (186 ft) The Hotel Faust was the center of social life and visits by V.I.P.s for decades. The 'Faust' building is now used as apartments for the elderly.

Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum

The Tinker Swiss Cottage is a historic place, museum, and park in Rockford, Illinois, USA. It was built as a personal residence by Robert Hall Tinker in the 1860s....
, a preserved "cottage" built in 1865, provides a glimpse into life in the 19th century. It combines exterior elements of a Swiss Chalet with elements from Victorian
Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly employed during the Victorian era. As with the latter, the period of building that it covers may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 ? 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom after whom it is named....
. A swing foot bridge, razed in 1976, ran from the cottage crossing the Kent creek bluffs and was a popular place to visit for many years. From October 2004 until June 2005, Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum worked to rebuild the bridge. Engineers Willett, Hofmann & Associates and Civil Constructors designed and built the new bridge.

Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center is the oldest continuous community music organization in the United States. It exists to provide quality music for all people of the northern Illinois region through live performances by local and world-renowned artists.

Midway Village and Museum Center is a picturesque turn-of-the-century Victorian
Victorian era

The Victorian Era of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the period of Victoria of the United Kingdom reign from June 1837 to January 1901....
 village featuring twenty-six historic structures and heritage gardens. Its grounds include a . Museum Center that offers five exhibition galleries of Rockford's unique and ethnic history, a collection of antique and handcrafted doll houses in the Old Doll House and a working replica of a water powered machine shop at its Severin Lake entrance.

Suburbs

  • Cherry Valley
    Cherry Valley, Illinois

    The village of Cherry Valley, Illinois is a small community located on the south east side of Rockford, Illinois in the Kishwaukee River valley in Winnebago County, Illinois and Boone County, Illinois....
  • Loves Park
  • Machesney Park
  • Belvidere
    Belvidere, Illinois

    Belvidere is a city in Boone County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,820 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boone County, Illinois....
  • New Millford
    New Millford, Illinois

    New Milford is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Rockford metropolitan area....
  • Winnebago
    Winnebago, Illinois

    Winnebago is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Rockford metropolitan area. The population was 3,000 at the 2000 census....
  • Roscoe
    Roscoe, Illinois

    File:RoscoeIllinoisIL251.jpgFile:RoscoeIllinoisSignIL251.jpgRoscoe is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, Illinois, a suburb of Rockford, Illinois incorporated in 1965....
  • Rockton


Sister cities

  • Brovary
    Brovary

    Brovary is a city located in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. It is the Capital city of the Brovarskyi Raion .Brovary is an ancient town, firstly mentioned in 1630....
    , Ukraine
    Ukraine

    Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
     since 1995
  • Changzhou
    Changzhou

    Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province of China of the People's Republic of China. It was also known as Yanling, Lanling, Jinling, and Wujin previously....
    , China
    China

    China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
     since 1999
  • Borgholm
    Borgholm

    Borgholm is a city status in Sweden in Kalmar County, south-eastern Sweden, located on the island of ?land in the Baltic Sea. It is the seat of Borgholm Municipality and has a population of 3,093 ....
    , Sweden
    Sweden

    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
     since 2002
  • Cluj-Napoca
    Cluj-Napoca

    , until 1974 Cluj, is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in north-western Transylvania. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade ....
    , Romania
    Romania

    Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
     since 2005
  • Ferentino
    Ferentino

    Ferentino is a town and comune in Italy, in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, 65 km southeast of Rome.It is situated on a hill 400 m above sea-level, in the Monti Ernici area....
    , Italy
    Italy

    Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
     since 2006


Miscellaneous


Sports teams


Current
  • Rockford IceHogs
    Rockford IceHogs

    This page is for the defunct United Hockey League team. For its active American Hockey League successor, see Rockford IceHogs.The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team in Rockford, Illinois USA....
     (Ice hockey; UHL
    United Hockey League

    The International Hockey League is a minor league professional ice hockey league with teams in the United States. The league is headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, and consists of six teams....
     1999—2007, AHL
    American Hockey League

    The American Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League ....
     2007—)
  • Rockford RiverHawks
    Rockford RiverHawks

    The Rockford RiverHawks are a professional baseball team based in the Rockford, Illinois suburb of Loves Park, Illinois, in the United States. The RiverHawks are a member of the Central Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball....
     (Baseball; Frontier League
    Frontier League

    The Frontier League, based in Troy, Illinois, is a professional, Independent league baseball baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States and Western Pennsylvania....
     2002—)
  • Rock River Raptors
    Rock River Raptors

    This page is for the Continental Indoor Football League team, for the National Premier Soccer League team also based in Rockford, see Rockford Raptors....
     (Indoor football; UIF
    United Indoor Football

    United Indoor Football was an indoor football league that started in 2005. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion and two from arenafootball2 took their franchises and formed their own league....
     2006—2007, CIFL 2008—)
  • Rockford Rampage
    Rockford Rampage

    The Rockford Rampage are a charter member of the National Indoor Soccer League for its inaugural 2008-09 season. Prior to 2008, they were a member of the American Indoor Soccer League's Central Division....
     (Indoor soccer; AISL
    American Indoor Soccer League

    The American Indoor Soccer League was a semi-professional indoor soccer league founded in 2003 and for now folded in 2008....
     2005—2008, NISL
    National Indoor Soccer League

    The National Indoor Soccer League is an indoor soccer league which began play in 2008. Originally, five teams had been announced to play in the inaugural season; four previously in the Major Indoor Soccer League and one formerly in the American Indoor Soccer League....
     2008—)
  • Rockford Thunder
    Rockford Thunder (NPF)

    The Rockford Thunder is a women's softball team based in the Rockford, Illinois suburb of Roscoe, Illinois. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch....
     (Fast-pitch softball; NPF
    National Pro Fastpitch

    National Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001....
     2007—)


Historical
  • Rockford Forest Citys
    Rockford Forest Citys

    Rockford Forest Citys, from Rockford, Illinois was one of the first professional baseball clubs. Rockford played for one season during the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players inaugural year of 1871....
     (Baseball
    Baseball

    Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport of nine players each. The goal of baseball is to score run by hitting a thrown Baseball with a baseball bat and touching a series of four markers called base arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team take turns hitting against...
    , 1871)
  • Rockford Fury (Basketball; PBL
    Premier Basketball League

    The Premier Basketball League is a professional men's basketball sports league that began play in January 2008. The league had ten teams for the 2008 season....
    , 2006-2008)
  • Rockford Lightning
    Rockford Lightning

    The Rockford Lightning are a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association. They were based in Rockford, Illinois. The Lightning were the oldest team in the CBA, originally existing as the Lancaster Red Roses from Lancaster, Pennsylvania....
     (Basketball, 1986–2005)
  • Rockford Peaches
    Rockford Peaches

    The Rockford Peaches were a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing out of Rockford, Illinois for the entire existence of the league from 1943 to 1954....
     (Women's baseball, 1943–1954)


Notable natives and residents


  • John B. Anderson
    John B. Anderson

    John Bayard Anderson is a former United States Congressman and Presidential candidate from Illinois. He was a U.S. Representative from the Illinois's 16th congressional district and an Independent candidate in the United States presidential election, 1980....
    , U.S. Representative, 1980 Presidential candidate
  • Stephanie Bellars
    Stephanie Bellars

    Stephanie Bellars is a professional wrestling Manager and the former girlfriend of "Macho Man" Randy Savage. She has been known as Gorgeous George and George Frankenstein....
    , professional wrestler
  • Jodi Benson
    Jodi Benson

    Jodi Benson is an United States voice actor and soprano singer. She is known for providing both the singing and the speaking voice of Disney's Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels....
    , actress and voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (1989 film)

    The Little Mermaid is a 1989 in film animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation with a pencil test beginning on September 23, 1988 and its first release on November 17, 1989 distributed by Walt Disney Pictures....
  • Paris Bennett
    Paris Bennett

    Paris Ana'is Bennett is an United States singer. She came to national recognition as a contestant on the American Idol of the reality television talent show, American Idol, finishing in fifth place....
    , American Idol season 5
    American Idol (Season 5)

    The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006 and concluded on May 24, 2006. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell returned to judge, and Ryan Seacrest returned to host....
     finalist (fifth place)
  • John Blake
    John Blake (American football)

    John Blake is the defensive line Coach for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina Tar Heels football American football team, a position he has held since 2007....
     college football coach
  • Stewart Brand
    Stewart Brand

    Stewart Brand is an author, editing, and creator of The Whole Earth Catalog and CoEvolution Quarterly.Brand is best known for the Whole Earth Catalog ....
    , founder of The Whole Earth Catalog, co-founder of The WELL – Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
  • Richard Bulliet
    Richard Bulliet

    Richard W. Bulliet is a professor of history at Columbia University who specializes in the history of Islamic society and institutions, the history of technology, and the history of the role of animals in human society....
    , Scholar of the Middle East
  • James Henry Breasted
    James Henry Breasted

    James Henry Breasted was an American archaeologist and historian....
    , scholar, first American teacher of Egyptology
    Egyptology

    Egyptology is a major field of archaeology, the study of ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian literature, Ancient Egyptian religion, and Art of ancient Egypt from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century....
  • Griffith Buck
    Griffith Buck

    Griffith Buck was a professor of horticulture at Iowa State University who created over 80 named cultivars of the rose, all of which are capable of withstanding temperatures of -20?F and need no pesticides or fungicides to thrive....
    , rose
    Rose

    A rose is a perennial plant flower shrub or vine of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species and comes in a variety of colors....
     breeder
  • James E. Cartwright
    James E. Cartwright

    James E. "Hoss" Cartwright , a United States Marine Corps 4-star rank General , is the 8th and current Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff....
    , General USMC, Vice Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Cheap Trick
    Cheap Trick

    Cheap Trick is a United States Rock music band formed in the 1970s and consisting of Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E. Carlos ....
    , rock band, circa 1970–present
  • Steve Cherundolo
    Steve Cherundolo

    Steven "Steve" Cherundolo is an American soccer player, who plays as a defender for Hannover 96 of the Bundesliga .Cherundolo grew up in San Diego and attended Mount Carmel High School in Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego, California ....
    , professional football (soccer) player for the US Men's National Team
    United States men's national soccer team

    The United States men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. Though soccer has not traditionally had a high profile in American sporting life, since the 1970s the sport has steadily grown in popularity, and the men's national team has risen to become one of the strongest teams in CONCACAF, is ranked 20th...
     and Hannover 96
    Hannover 96

    Hannover 96 is a Germany Football List of football clubs in Germany in Hanover, Lower Saxony....
     in Germany's Bundesliga.
  • City of Rockford Pipe Band
    City of Rockford Pipe Band

    The City of Rockford Pipe Band is a Grade Three pipe band from Rockford, Illinois, Illinois. It was founded in January 2000 and made its performance debut on Saint Patrick's Day just three months later....
    , Competition Pipe and Drum Band
  • Thomas Fleming
    Thomas Fleming (author)

    Thomas Fleming is a traditionalist Catholic writer, president of the Rockford Institute, and editor of Chronicles , a political commentary periodical, published monthly, and directed at a paleoconservative audience....
    , editor, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture
    Chronicles (magazine)

    Chronicles is a United States monthly magazine published by the Rockford Institute. Its full current name is Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture....
  • Susan Saint James
    Susan Saint James

    Susan Saint James is an United States actress and activist, most widely known for her Primetime Emmy Award-recognized work in television during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s....
    , actress
  • Ginger Lynn Allen, actress and adult film star
  • Sarah Kelly
    Sarah Kelly

    Sarah Kelly is a Christian contemporary artist from Rockford, Illinois, Illinois. She is signed to Gotee Records, a Christian label under EMI. Kelly is a two time Grammy Award nominee for albums "Take Me Away" and Where The Past Meets Today in the category of Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album....
    , contemporary Christian artist
  • Ernie Kent
    Ernie Kent

    Ernie Kent is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Oregon. He has been the Ducks' coach since he replaced Jerry Green after Green left for University of Tennessee after the 1996-97 season....
    , head men's basketball
    Basketball

    Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a basketball through a 10 feet  high hoop under organized rules....
     coach, University of Oregon
    Oregon Ducks

    The Oregon Ducks refers to the sports teams of the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon. The Oregon Ducks are part of the Pacific-10 Conference....
  • Chad Knaus
    Chad Knaus

    Chad Anthony "The Magician" Knaus is the NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief for the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet Impala Super Sport currently driven by life partner Jimmie Johnson, owned by Jeff Gordon and operated by Rick Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsports....
    , Jimmie Johnson
    Jimmie Johnson

    Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is a current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver who drives the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet Impala Super Sport co-owned by Rick Hendrick and his teammate Jeff Gordon and operated by Hendrick Motorsports....
    's (2006 NEXTEL Cup
    NEXTEL Cup

    The Sprint Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . It was formerly known as the Strictly Stock Series and Grand National Series ....
     Champion) crew chief
  • Julia Lathrop
    Julia Lathrop

    Julia Lathrop , was an United States social reformer in the area of education.The daughter of William Lathrop, she was born in Rockford, Illinois....
    , suffragette, subject of biography (My Friend, Julia Lathrop, 1935) by Jane Addams
    Jane Addams

    Jane Addams was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement, and one of the first American women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize....
     
  • Natasha Leggero
    Natasha Leggero

    Natasha Leggero is an American stand-up comic and character actor.She attended Hunter College in New York City before pursuing acting in Los Angeles....
    , stand-up comic and character actor
    Character actor

    A character actor is one who predominantly plays a particular type of role rather than leading actor ones. Character actor roles can range from bit parts to leading actor....
  • Janet Lynn
    Janet Lynn

    Janet Lynn Nowicki is an United States Figure skating and Olympic bronze medalist....
    , Olympic medalist ice skater
  • Joe Mantello
    Joe Mantello

    Joseph Mantello is an American actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked , Take Me Out and Assassins , as well as earlier in his career being one of the original Broadway cast of Angels in America....
    , Tony Award
    Tony Award

    The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
     winning actor and director: Take Me Out
    Take Me Out

    Take Me Out is a 2002 play by American playwright, Richard Greenberg originally staged by Donmar Warehouse with The Public Theater. It premiered off-Broadway at on 05 September2002 Joseph Papp Public Theater, and made Its Broadway debut on 27 February 2003 at the Walter Kerr Theatre where it ran 355 performances....
    , Assassins
    Assassins (musical)

    Assassins is a Musical theater with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style portrayal of men and women who attempted to assassinate President of the United States....
    , Wicked
    Wicked (musical)

    Wicked is a musical theatre with songs and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The story is based on the best-selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, a parallel novel of L....
  • Lynn Morley Martin
    Lynn Morley Martin

    Lynn Morley Martin is a businesswoman and former United States politician....
    , US Secretary of Labor and Congresswoman
  • Marin Mazzie
    Marin Mazzie

    Marin Mazzie is a Tony Award-Nominated United States actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater....
    , Broadway actress and singer, nominated for Tony Award
    Tony Award

    The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
  • John Ortberg
    John Ortberg

    John Ortberg, Jr. is the senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, California, an evangelicalism church with over 4,000 members....
    , bestselling author and pastor
  • Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps
    Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps

    The Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, founded in 1956, is a World Class Drum and bugle corps based in Rockford, Illinois, and is a member corps of Drum Corps International....
    , Internationally recognized award-winning drum corps
    Drum and bugle corps (modern)

    A drum and bugle corps or drum corps is a musical marching unit consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and Color guard ....
    ...Drum Corps International World Champions 1996 (tie with the Blue Devils
    Blue Devils

    Blue Devils may refer to:In botany:*Eryngium pinnatifidum, a plant from Western AustraliaIn military history:*The Fighting Blue Devils, nickname of the 88th Infantry Division of the United States Army in World War I and World War II...
    ) and 2008.
  • Carlos Polk
    Carlos Polk

    Carlos Devonn Polk is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft....
    , NFL linebacker, Dallas Cowboys
    Dallas Cowboys

    The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the National Football Conference East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League ....
  • Aidan Quinn
    Aidan Quinn

    Aidan Quinn is an Emmy Award-nominated United States actor....
    , actor
  • Anthony Tyler Quinn
    Anthony Tyler Quinn

    Anthony Tyler Quinn is an United States actor best known for his role as Jonathan Turner on Boy Meets World from 1994-1997....
    , Actor Boy Meets World
    Boy Meets World

    Boy Meets World is an Television in the United States television sitcom that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, who grows up from a young boy to a married man....
  • Shawn Ryan
    Shawn Ryan

    Shawn Ryan is a writer, and the creator of the FX television series The Shield and CBS series The Unit....
    , television writer, creator of FX show The Shield
  • Gordon Tullock
    Gordon Tullock

    Gordon Tullock is a retired Professor of Law and Economics at the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia.A native of Rockford, Illinois, Tullock received his J.D....
    , economist
  • Ed Viesturs
    Ed Viesturs

    Ed Viesturs is one of the world's premier high-altitude mountaineers. He is the first United States, and 12th person overall, to summit all fourteen mountains over 8000 meters , and the sixth climber to do it without bottled oxygen....
    , high-altitude mountaineer
  • Janice E. Voss
    Janice E. Voss

    Janice Elaine Voss, Ph.D. is an United States astronaut....
    , astronaut
    Astronaut

    An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a List of human spaceflight programs to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
  • Shawn Wade
    Shawn Wade

    Shawn Wade is an American musician and the bassist of Mandeville, Louisiana hard rock band 12 Stones....
    , Bass Player for 12 Stones
    12 Stones

    12 Stones is a post-grunge band formed in Louisiana in 2000....
    .
  • Dallas West
    Dallas West

    Dallas West is an American pool player and was inducted into the Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1996.West is known for having a strong competitive spirit and is respected by his peers as being a gentleman player....
    , Champion of 1975 and 1983 U.S. Open - 14.1 / Straight Pool... inducted into the Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame
    Hall of Fame

    A hall of fame is a type of museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field.In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums which enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia....
     in 1996
  • Michelle Williams
    Michelle Williams (singer)

    Tenitra Michelle Williams , commonly known as Michelle Williams, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is better known for being one third of the successful contemporary R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the best-selling female group of all time according to the World Music Awards and Sony BMG....
    , member of Destiny's Child
    Destiny's Child

    Destiny's Child was an contemporary R&B and pop music girl group comprising lead singer Beyonc? Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams ....
  • James "Big Jim" Wright, record producer
    Record producer

    In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
     for Mariah Carey
    Mariah Carey

    Mariah Carey is an United States singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S....
    .


Media

  • Rockford Register Star , Daily Newspaper
    Newspaper

    A newspaper is a publication containing news, information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on Politics, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports....
    . Founded 1855. Circulation: 75,000.
  • , Weekly Newspaper. Independently owned since 1993. Circulation: 22,000.
  • Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture
    Chronicles (magazine)

    Chronicles is a United States monthly magazine published by the Rockford Institute. Its full current name is Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture....
    , Monthly Magazine. Founded 1977. Features a monthly column about Rockford titled "The Rockford Files" by executive editor Scott P. Richert.


  • WREX-TV
    WREX-TV

    WREX-TV is the NBC television affiliate serving the Rockford, Illinois area. It is the market's only full-powered VHF station and is Rockford's second oldest television station....
     13, NBC affiliate
  • WTVO
    WTVO

    WTVO is the Rockford, Illinois-based affiliate of the American Broadcasting Company television network. The station is owned by Mission Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Nexstar Broadcasting Group....
     17, ABC affiliate
  • WIFR
    WIFR

    WIFR is the CBS television affiliate based in Rockford, Illinois and city of license to nearby Freeport, Illinois. It broadcasts its analog signal on UHF channel 23 and its digital signal on UHF channel 41....
     23, CBS
    CBS

    CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
     affiliate
  • WFBN-LP 33, IND Weigel Broadcasting
    Weigel Broadcasting

    Weigel Broadcasting is an United States locally-based television broadcasting company. The company is based in downtown Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV , at the apt address of 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown, Chicago neighborhood....
  • WQRF-TV
    WQRF-TV

    WQRF-TV is the Rockford, Illinois-based television affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station began its operations on November 27, 1978, and became the area's Fox station in August 1989....
     39, FOX
    Fox

    A fox is an animal belonging to any one of about 27 species of small to medium-sized Canidae, characterized by possessing a long, narrow snout, and a bushy tail, or brush....
     affiliate


  • WNTA
    WNTA (AM)

    WNTA is a radio station licensed to Rockford, Illinois, USA. The station serves the Rockford area. The stations programing is focused on local news....
     1330, News/Talk Radio
  • WTJK
    WTJK

    WTJK is an ESPN Radio branded Sports radio radio station in South Beloit, Illinois. WTJK formerly used the call letters WBEL, and aired an Adult Standards format....
     1380, ESPN Radio
  • WROK
    WROK

    WROK is an American All-news radio/Talk radio radio station in Rockford, Illinois. It is owned by Cumulus Media. The station is licensed by the FCC to serve Winnebago County in Northern Illinois....
     1440, News/Talk Radio


  • WFEN
    WFEN

    WFEN is a radio station licensed to Rockford, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Rockford/Madison area. The station carries a religious radio format....
     88.3, Christian Radio
  • WNIJ 89.5, NPR
  • WNIU 90.5, NPR Classical Radio
  • WGSL 91.1, Christian Radio
  • WRTB 95.3, Classic Hits/Adult Contemporary Radio
  • WKGL-FM 96.7, Classic Rock Radio
  • WZOK
    WZOK

    WZOK is a radio station serving the Rockford, Illinois area with a Top 40 Mainstream format. It broadcasts on FM frequency 97.5 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media....
     97.5, Top 40 Radio
  • WXXQ
    WXXQ

    WXXQ is a radio station serving the Rockford, Illinois area with a country music format. . WXXQ broadcasts on FM frequency 98.5 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media....
     98.5, Country Radio
  • WQFL 100.9, Christian Radio
  • WGFB 103.1, Adult Contemporary Radio
  • WXRX
    WXRX

    WXRX is an FM radio station, frequency 104.9, based in Rockford, Illinois, created by a company called "Radio Works" run by David McAley and Robert Rhea Jr....
     104.9, Active Rock Radio
  • WLEY
    WLEY

    WLEY-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Aurora, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago, Rockford area....
     107.9, Mexican Regional, Aurora


See also

  • Irish Marching Society
  • Winnebago County War Memorial
    Winnebago County War Memorial

    Memorial Hall, also known as Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and the Winnebago County War Memorial, is located in Rockford, Illinois....


External links