Fri Jun 30, 2006 9:10 am

Q: What will you do to reduce blight in residential and commercial areas? A: Rockford is one city. Unfortunately, we have not acted like "one city." Instead, decades of gross inequality in infrastructure investments has resulted in "sprawl" and blight and decay on the west side and throughout Rockford's urban core. We will reduce blight and increase development on the west side by setting the right priorities and having the right approach. We must do the following: 1. Invest in critical infrastructure improvements on the west side. 2. Institute better land use and zoning guidelines. 3. Institute better development tools and marketing efforts. Our approach must be aggressive
Is this why Perryville and I-90 get the new outlet mall?....LarryBoy made a LOTTA noise of how the downtown Main St. mall strangled downtown traffic flow.........it WAS an IMMEDIATE step he would take=ripping it out....... with the U.S. 20 bypass, and the Harrison/Springfield extension, the westside of Rockford is easily accessible from the Interstate......LarryBoy's own words he would AGGRESSIVELY develop business-How many tax incentives did he SURRENDER for this prime location-He coulda offered even MORE to move if he truly wanted to encourage west-side growth..........why offer concessions to Wal-Mart,richest corp. in the world, to locate off U.S.20?[at alpine] Why not southWEST?? IF HE TRULY MEAN'T ENCOURAGE WEST-SIDE DEVELOPMENT?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!