By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — There was a moment Thursday outside the beaten down Barber-Colman factory where you could feel the weight of the decision that rests on Alderwoman Gabriella Torina and the rest of the Rockford City Council.
Dozens of people had gathered to pray with four days left before a potentially historic decision on whether to redevelop or demolish the once bustling manufacturing hive that has now sat vacant for decades.
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Torina had said she would avoid political speeches that evening, and instead asked the 60 some residents and clergy members to pray for peace, wisdom and grace for the City Council. Then, at the end of the event, the group circled around Torina to raise their hands above her and pray. Tears she had held back rolled down from behind her dark sunglasses.
“We’re talking about one of the biggest decisions in our city’s history, and it’s a lot of pressure,” Torina, who represents the 5th Ward where the buildings sit, told the group. “There’s a lot of weight on our shoulders right now.”
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The 26-acre Barber-Colman complex, which has deteriorated over the past three decades of vacancy, has felt like a symbol for some in south Rockford that city leadership has forgotten about them. For them, a vote in favor of the proposal to turn the factory into a mix of nearly 1,000 apartments and 130,000 square feet of business space would be a change of the tide.
“We have begged and pled and voted and believed for our municipality to turn their attention to this area,” said Don George Jr., a native of the neighborhood and a minister with Life Changers International Church. “Especially for the Black and Hispanic communities, this is a big deal. We want to see our areas flourish as well.
“Although many of us live on different sides of town, we have roots here. We want the whole city to look beautiful.”
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People in the 5th Ward have looked to Torina, too, to help navigate the project across the finish line, he said.
“We’ve seen many who have tried, but the dial landed on her and she’s up to bat,” George said. “There’s been a lot of change in Rockford, but we all know that change doesn’t always mean progress. We’re seeing it with her, and that’s why it means so much.”
Thursday’s event was a mix of preaching and prayer from clergy members and residents from any denomination. It was called together by Pastor William Martin of Providence Missionary Baptist Church, which is in the 5th Ward.
“What we see here now is literally the makeup of the city of Rockford. It’s not just clergy out here. We have residents out here. We have concerned citizens out here. We have people who are not even in this ward out here to show solidarity,” he said. “We’ve suffered long enough with blighted property on South Main. It’s time for a change.”
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City Council members are being asked to consider a redevelopment deal that puts forward city, state and federal funding — as well as historic tax credits — to help Milwaukee-based J. Jeffers & Co. finance a more than $420 million plan.
Pastor Norma Borrero of Life Church Rockford’s south campus said exciting developments have happened recently in south Rockford. Most notably was the announcement Thursday morning that passenger rail service would return to the city with a station just about a mile away.
Longtime south side residents remember Barber-Colman in its heyday, when thousands of people worked at the factory, and they want their children and grandchildren to see a prosperous area again, she said.
“This has been a side of town that has really been hurting and they’re looking really for a time of restoration,” Borrero said. “People in their 60s, 70s, 80s they saw what it was before and now what it has become.
“They’re thinking about their children, they’re grandchildren, they’re thinking about the future. … We don’t want to leave this Earth until we see our future generations prepared.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas