State Rep. Candidate Thurgood Brooks is asking the public to withhold judgment after an article was published in the Quad City Times on February 17, 2022, containing false statements about Mr. Brooks and the events surrounding the Rock Island City Councilmeeting of February 14. “When video of the events in question is made available, everyone in District 72 will be able to judge for themselves” says Brooks. “But I want to be very clear that the article that appeared in the Quad City Times on February 17 is misleading and contains statements about me that are false.” Mr. Brooks, a respected... Read More

Rock Island City Council further demonstrated its commitment to Downtown revitalization on Monday when it voted to put $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward a proposed $7 million project that would modernize and enhance the city’s historic center of commerce and culture. That money will be supplemented with about $1.5 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District revenue the City earmarked for Downtown infrastructure improvements, and potentially, up to $3 million from the State of Illinois Rebuild Downtowns & Main Streets Capital Grant Program. “I am excited... Read More

Jack Cullen, Director, Downtown Rock Island, will present a progress report to Rock Island City Council on the Quad Cities Chamber’s partnership with the City of Rock Island focused on revitalizing the downtown business district at 6:45 p.m. at Rock Island City Hall, 1528 3rd Ave., Rock Island. The City contracted with the Chamber in early 2021 to explore the creation of a new downtown-focused place management organization supported by sustainable funding to deliver special services that: enhance public spaces; encourage investment; and improve overall quality of life in Downtown Rock Island City... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Rock Island has stopped exploring selling off its water and sewer services to a private company. The city issued the following statement this afternoon: “The Rock Island City Council is suspending further exploration into the privatization of the City’s water and sewer utilities. The elected officials and staff of the City of Rock Island are continually looking for ways to provide high quality and cost-efficient services to its citizens.  For the past 18 months, the City has gathered information related to the potential privatization of the City’s water and sewer... Read More

UPDATED: After a lengthy question and answer session with American Water, I still think Rock Island selling its water and sewer would be a horrible idea, and I think the Rock Island mayor and city council needs to stop being disingenuous about stringing the idea along and put it aside. After I’d previously written on the subject, I was happy to hear from Karen Cotton, Senior Manager, External Communications, for Illinois American Water. I understand it takes a good amount of courage and initiative to contact someone who has expressed a contrary idea, particularly one going against a goal... Read More

Monday August 23rd at 6 p.m. at 1528 3rd Avenue in Rock Island, Thurgood Brooks (former Mayoral candidate and one of the authors of “The Resolution”) will be presenting his revised initiative to the Rock Island City Council during the public comments section of the meeting. The purpose of “The Resolution” is to improve police and community relations in Rock Island. This public presentation by Thurgood Brooks will be highlighting the progress of this initiative to the Rock Island City Council and residents. After several rounds of discussion with city officials since June 2020, “The Resolution”... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Monday August 23rd at 6 p.m. at 1528 3rd Avenue in Rock Island, Thurgood Brooks (former Mayoral candidate and one of the authors of “The Resolution”) will be presenting his revised initiative to the Rock Island City Council during the public comments section of the meeting. The purpose of “The Resolution” is to improve police and community relations in Rock Island. This public presentation by Thurgood Brooks will be highlighting the progress of this initiative to the Rock Island City Council and residents. After several rounds of discussion with city officials since June... Read More

EXCLUSIVE: There’s been a wellspring of controversy over the past few months as the Rock Island Mayor and City Council have contemplated selling the city’s water and sewer systems to a private company, American Water. On July 26, American Water gave a presentation to the city government officials pitching them the potential sale. After that, the council and mayor had their regularly scheduled meeting, at which there was a full house of local residents protesting against the sale, not just to American Water, but to any private company. In addition, the American Federation of State, County... Read More

We live in a divided world, in a community parceled by city borders and intersected by a river, but there’s one thing I think we can all agree upon. We all pretty much hate Mediacom. The absurdly high rates, the service outages, and the fact that most of us have little to no choice but to pay for them churns up a particularly virulent disgust towards the company. But, again, we have no choice, because they’re basically a monopoly, and until another viable alternative arrives, we’re pretty much screwed in dealing with them. That’s especially annoying because they’re... Read More

Imagine it’s Super Bowl Sunday, pre-covid. You’re in your home, minding your own business, watching TV, having a couple beverages with a number of friends, having a good time. Across the street, you see lights on in your neighbors’ houses. You see cars out front. They have guests too, and all of you are enjoying a weekend night. Suddenly, the evening is split by the flashing lights and squeal of two police cars, and an ambulance in tow, roaring down your street and pulling up to your neighbor’s house. Everyone is looking out the windows to see what’s going on. You all see your neighbor... Read More