The city has a sickness in it — crime

Editor’s note: The following letter was read to the Rockford City Council May 21.

Dear Mayor Morrissey, staff and City Council members,

On Friday, May 18 at approximately 5:30 p.m. while enjoying the peace and tranquility of my home, I heard my mother yell out two blood-curdling screams. Upon entering the kitchen, I saw an intruder in my home. He had my mother pressed up against the wall with a knife to her throat.

At that point, I was fighting for my life and that of my mother. After seven minutes had passed, the fight of my life was over. The intruder, assailant, thief, homicidal maniac, devil was gone. He had fled out the same door of which he had entered, with me following after. Unfortunately, he got away.

Over the last several months within a three-block area of my home, there have been three home invasions, three drug operations shut down, gunfire in the middle of the day on Broadway, numerous prostitutes and vehicles trolling the neighborhood on an endless basis, looking for drugs and prostitutes. My neighbor and his wife were riding their motorcycle on Broadway when they were involved in a hit-and-run accident. His wife landed on the hood of the truck. The truck sped away, running through three red lights with her hanging on for dear life until she slid off as he rounded a corner.

Mayor Morrissey, there is a sickness in this city, a cancer. I don’t have the answers about how to fix it, and I don’t think you do, either, but something must be done. Something has to change. As with all cancers, if it isn’t treated, it ends up killing its host. I think the city of Rockford and its citizens deserve better.

Respectfully,
Toby Haldeman
Rockford

From the May 23-29, 2012, issue

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