A New Vision For Belvidere
A while back, scrolling through an online discussion of “what Belvidere needs,” amongst the calls for a pool and fancy restaurants was the comment: “A vision.” I agree. If we keep focusing on the problems immediately before us without an idea of the goal we’re working towards, we’ll never get anywhere. I don’t think it’s too much to ask our local leaders to share their vision for Belvidere, so I wrote mine down.
My day begins much as it does every day with coffee, a stop at the gym, and catching up on the news before the mad rush to get kids to school begins. It’s winter so I split my workouts between the gym and the River’s Edge. River’s Edge has leaned into its strengths as a unique indoor recreation facility with the addition of indoor pickleball and racquetball courts. Plus if I use Belvidere Park District recreation facilities regularly I get discounts on local healthcare services or at some local restaurants and markets.
After racquetball I head home, make myself a cup of coffee, and sit down to catch up on the news. I still check my regular news sites for national and regional news, but I end my news consumption with what I look forward to every day: scrolling or thumbing through one of a few new or newly-invigorated papers, zines, or journals now produced right here in Belvidere. After years of conglomerate newspapers defunding local reporters, and with the ever-growing general discontent with “the media”, a small group of high school students and recent grads studying journalism launched an experimental paper (a word used loosely here, the group works in print, audio, and video) covering everything from City Council and School Board meetings to local sports to “what exactly is the source of The Booms?”
These upstart kids weren’t aware of the depth of the void they were filling. People are eager to see all that has been going on in their community that previously was hidden from them simply because no one was covering it. This experiment has been so successful that it’s influenced others as well. A local “legacy” paper wants in on the action. They’ve partnered with a national nonprofit working to restore local newsrooms to get a single journalist part time to produce its own fresh local content. There’s less advertising now - more content - but the paper can charge more for advertising thanks to the quality of the content. The papers have slightly different political slants, fostering competition between them - which in turn sells more copies of both. The stories in these publications don’t exist anywhere else. They’re unique to our town. The vibes are reminiscent of the times just after the American Revolution, when the local paper was a continuation of the thoughts and deeds of the community.
Now, to get the kids off to school. My years as a teacher taught me that not having what you need to do your job isn’t an excuse for failure. You work to get your students what they need - filling that gap so they can succeed. That attitude continues to inspire me. Currently we’re addressing inequities between the north and south side of town. Simply put, families of students who attend north side schools skew more wealthy than those on the south side. D100 already shifts support staff around to meet student needs in terms of counseling, social work, and psychology. We’re looking at making sure extracurricular opportunities are also distributed equally across schools. For example, many families find a $4 t-shirt for drama club cost prohibitive. For these students the prospect of bringing home a permission slip for a $100 trip to see a Chicago musical is outside of the realm of possibility. Eager to offer these opportunities to all, the school board is working with parents, teachers, and community groups to come up with solutions to be implemented in the near future.
Having waved goodbye to the kids, let’s get to work. In partnership with Rock Valley College’s Advanced Technology Center, a reskilling movement is taking shape. This program trains hundreds who currently qualify only for entry level positions at the lowest-wage jobs for much-needed high-skill and high-wage jobs. Early initiatives involving CNC machining and welding have paid off with the relocation of several niche manufacturers to Belvidere. The ATC is currently at maximum capacity and already looking to expand. They need more room for current programs as well as for budding initiatives in software, aircraft maintenance, and green energy production.
A self-organized group of residents who are union members themselves have formed a coalition to unionize as much of the local workforce as possible. They have had wins at a few small businesses, showing wage increases of 50-150% for local working families - not to mention quality of life improvements while they are on the job. Having tasted success, they are eager to organize at larger employers where they can score wins for more local working families.
The Belvidere Assembly is running again, which is great. However, we’ve reconsidered the risks of depending too heavily on this fickle employer. We’re taking steps to increase and diversify the local job market. We’ve renegotiated terms of future closures/idlings with Stellantis such that in addition to ample severance they will also pay for a program to offer reskilling and job placement for affected workers. All of the resiliency improvements we’ve made in other areas such as local food and energy production also help blunt the effects of such a closure. Given all of these efforts together, wages are noticeably up in Belvidere. Folks are finally feeling like they are paid a living wage.
Since we’re at work and have to get home eventually, let’s talk about transportation. Belvidere has long benefited from connectedness. Freight can easily be transported by rail, road, or air. Commuter transportation, though, has suffered since the 1970s and earlier when there were ample light rail lines, trolleys, and the like. Getting around Belvidere and to and from Rockford via public transportation is getting easier. We’ve worked to expand the Boone County Transit service to run more rides with more drivers, a Belvidere loop that runs on the hour, and several daily scheduled shuttles to Rockford.
The long-awaited passenger rail service from Belvidere to Chicago is up and running. This means a few things for Belvidere. For current residents, every stop between Belvidere and Chicago is now a potential place of employment - increasing the number and quality of job prospects for workers. With the persistence of remote work, some even work downtown Chicago while living in Belvidere. These workers make Chicago wages but spend them in our local economy. Taking the train in the other direction, rail service makes Belvidere the perfect place for suburbanites looking for a more affordable place to raise their families while not sacrificing access to the city.
Speaking of housing, we have addressed the need for more affordable housing in Belvidere and Boone County via multiple strategies. While much industrial development has happened both south and west of town, bringing jobs and workers in need of housing, more condos and single-family houses have also been built to increase availability. Downtown Belvidere, with the arrival of the train and a reinvigorated development activity, is now home to a large (20 units) mixed-use residential building. These apartments provide affordable housing and parking, but also house 2 new businesses: a restaurant and a growing bakery producing both American and traditionally Mexican baked goods and coffee. A common area behind the building with a fire pit, outdoor bar, and ample space for bags or other outdoor games is always host to a group of young people who value living in a walkable neighborhood near their peers. Throughout Belvidere there are several neighborhood groups who have pooled resources to renovate and sell existing housing at affordable rates. At times they are even able to provide low interest financing. Once again the community is enriched by keeping profits local. For these projects as well as future ones we’ve explored financial instruments like Community Land Trusts in order to ensure we can build affordable housing whenever we may need it.
As my work day draws to a close, my thoughts shift to dinner plans. The biggest change here is the increase in the amount of locally grown and produced food which we consume on a weekly basis. Boone County takes pride in the quality of its farmland, but most of it is used to grow corn and soybeans to be sold on the wider market. Recently a handful of farmers have joined with local entrepreneurs and city officials to boost local food production. Why, you ask? Resilience and sustainability. When farmers grow food crops for local human consumption, the farmer benefits from the sale of those crops (as usual) but when they are sold back into the community the residents benefit as well. Money which would have been spent at a large chain supermarket and taken out of the community now stays within the community - making ourselves richer. And hey, we’re staying true to our farming roots in a very 21st century way.
The next step in their ambitious plan is to contract small and large local businesses and city government to purchase produce and other food items from local providers. Taco day at the high school? Buy tortillas from Raices. Daily coffee service? Sips & Sprinkles. Weekly staff lunch? Big John’s.
In fact, this doesn’t need to stop at food. With demonstrated success reinvesting in local food sources we’re considering expanding the program to explore reinvestment in office and janitorial supply and IT services. Existing local businesses gain new customers and new businesses are started to meet the new demand. More money stays with us right here in Belvidere.
All this entrepreneurial interest has ignited a new era of community participation in the local economy. A downtown business development organization is leveraging grants as well as cooperating with development organizations such as the U of I Extension to recruit and train entrepreneurs, restore downtown real estate, and support new businesses in their first three years. Members of the business community contribute both financially and by lending their expertise to help new businesses succeed.
Other creative solutions are taking off on their own. A local investment network has been established and funded with $250k from local investors who have opted to invest in their community rather than the stock market. This money will be used to fund low interest loans to local businesses. Businesses get the capital they need and interest is paid back to local investors rather than large banks and their distant shareholders.
The creativity isn’t limited to brick and mortars and fancy banking. Innovative energy solutions are also powering up. A community-owned renewable energy company has been founded, and more are in the works. These types of companies raise funds from local investors to build small isolated solar or wind facilities. Energy generated via these facilities is pumped back into the grid, decreasing costs for energy consumers while local investors profit from the success of the business rather than national energy companies.
All of this development has changed the entire philosophy of city government. It has gone from a group whose highest goal is to save taxpayer money (resulting in ‘doing’ as little as possible) to an organization whose highest goal is to carry out its vision for a better community. It is eager to hear new ideas, responds patiently to criticism, and takes calculated risks. It is an active player in the wellbeing of our residents.
A simple outcome of this philosophical change is that communication with the various governmental agencies in Belvidere and Boone County has been streamlined. There’s a single phone number for all inquiries (you can email or text too, if that’s your preference). Online bill pay has followed a similar streamlining. Water bills, permits, fines, etc. can all easily be paid online. A city communications app makes this process mobile.
City buildings are powered entirely by solar power from panels installed on the roofs, saving taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars annually. Residential solar continues to expand due to an optional aggregate program that benefits all residents financially.
Once home for the evening we often connect with neighbors or attend community functions. Wards and some smaller neighborhoods have established neighborhood committees which plan events like block parties, gather feedback from neighbors to communicate back to the city, and take on neighborhood improvement projects. Some of these are led by city Alderpersons.
Other days we head downtown after dinner. There are usually street performers or public art installations to explore. Downtown infrastructure has been improved such that it encourages walkability. Some small side streets are closed for pedestrian traffic. Bike lanes on main streets link up with county trails and make our city safely navigable by bike, and our accessible sidewalks are kept clear from ice and snow in the winter.
On the whole, we’re a more active town these days. This makes us healthier, but doesn’t solve all of our healthcare issues. We approach these problems the same way we’ve approached all of the others: with imagination and hope. Our county health department already provides excellent services to our community. With increased investment, local healthcare navigators assist residents (especially the elderly) in finding the care they need - whether through the expanded services of the health department itself or by connecting them to other local providers. We have a budding partnership program with UW Health which means to help meet some of the need for expanded local healthcare. What’s more, local residents who use Belvidere Park District recreational facilities get discounted services from the health department and UW Health as an incentive to stay healthy.
Much has changed in the time since 2025, and yet Belvidere still feels like home. In fact, it may feel more like home than before. We know our neighbors better. We each have a stake in the success of our neighborhood. We’re more resilient. Our local efforts protect us from failing national systems and climate disasters. We’re more prosperous. More just. More caring. More in control of our future. I hope to meet you there.
