Letters to the Editor

Whether one agrees or disagrees with what appears on the pages of The Rock River Times or agrees with Frank Schier’s viewpoints, Frank’s unwavering support of the arts, the environment, renewable energy, and holding elected officials and…

Governor Rauner, Time is running out for you to sign Automatic Voter Registration, a groundbreaking piece of legislation that will increase the number of participants in our democracy – by up to 2 million citizens – and modernize our…

Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed House Bill 4351 today, which would have protected seniors by prohibiting any governor, Democrat or Republican, from reducing access to the Community Care Program (CCP) arbitrarily. The Alzheimer’s Association,…

From the ACLU Action Team Imagine that the FBI could suddenly get information about the websites you visited and the emails you sent without getting permission from a judge. Would you stop visiting certain websites? Or maybe avoid emailing…

Perhaps the most unsettling thing we have learned during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has not been about Donald Trump at all, but about ourselves as a country. Certainly, many of us thought Trump would never get this far. Clearly,…

As Illinois approaches a whole year without a state budget, all social service agencies are struggling to find ways to continue to provide vital programs to the most vulnerable Illinoisans. While parts of the budget have continued to…

Since I started working in downtown Rockford nearly 10 years ago, I have been encouraged by the transformation of the city’s center to a more vibrant atmosphere. An influx of residents and commercial development has brought activity to an…

Every weekday morning, I say the Pledge of Allegiance with 400 children. These 400 energetic souls attend the grade school where I teach Language Arts. They speak, collectively, over 20 different languages. They come from countries around…

Just a note to let you know that the annual St. Patrick's Party and Parade will take place for the 37th year. The event is sponsored by the Irish Marching Society of Rockford and has become a staple for the beginning of spring. The event…

On behalf of the CASA board, I’d like to thank all those who participated in our recent fun and successful fund-raiser. CASA of the 15th Judicial Circuit, which serves abused and neglected children of Lee, Ogle and Carroll counties recently…

Thank you to all who were involved in this year’s Christmas Tree Recycling Program. Approximately 500 trees (about 12.5 tons) were collected and chipped into mulch and diverted from local landfills. Since the start of this program in 1999,…

By Allison, Maxwell and Jeffrey Wang In June 2015, Rockford Public School District 205 (RPS205) denied the FOIA request for a copy of a legal opinion on a potential conflict of interest. The Illinois Attorney General looked into this…

Dear Editor, Thank you for the article "Paris carbon reduction agreement" by Drs. Robert and Sonia Vogl. They emphasize disagreements over the EPA's Clean Power Plan and end with a very disheartening message: "The effort to reduce carbon…

As the manager of a local social service agency that provides services for the elderly, including individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, every day I see how devastating Alzheimer’s is and how important it is to find a cure. Alzheimer’s is…

Today I received two emails from Senator Mark Kirk. The opening paragraph of the first email read, "The bill funds the Department of Defense at the highest level since 2012, including a pay increase for military personnel, and provides for…