ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A Resource Blitz in the fifth ward was held at the new Aldermanic office for 5th ward residents.
“I want the residents to leave with a bag full of resources and a brain full of new information,” said Alderman Gabrielle Torina of the fifth ward in Rockford.
Torina’s goal was simple, bring The City of Rockford to the residents of the fifth ward.
“I just wanted people to be able to interact directly with the City of Rockford staff and be able to get their questions answered right on the spot. So a lot of the common calls I get about police and fire and neighborhood standards and some of those things, I wanted to bring those resources right to the residents. I want the residents to leave here with a bag full of resources and a brain full of information,” Torina said.
The fifth ward sits on Rockford’s southside, spanning both sides of the river. Different agencies and groups from public works to the police to the library were on hand to help out in any way that they could.
“To talk to the alderman and the people here, letting them know what’s going on on the south side and the potholes and different things and trees growing over in the alleys. Just different things like that,” said Bonnie Fair, a resident in the fifth ward.
“People living in this war and people working in this war to come and meet with the different departments of the city, get information from them and I came tonight so that I can take the information back to ou people who come to us,” said Geneva Anderson, she works in the fifth ward.
“It’s new. So we’re kind of establishing a new culture. And I like to do fresh and innovative things because I think just sometimes people want to see some of us try some new efforts. I think over the years you continue to do the same things. You’re going to get the same results. So if we try new things and we’ll see how successful it is and then we’ll keep doing it,” Alderman Torina said.
The new Aldermanic office in the fifth ward is located at the Jenkins Resource Center on Michigan Avenue.
