ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – A “chaotic” meeting ends with the Rockford City Council casting a $224 million decision.

Monday’s marathon council started around 5:35 p.m. and ended just before 9:50 p.m. The occasion marked the finale of a weeks-long debate on the city’s budget for 2026 — sitting at $224,340,588.

To prevent a $3.7 million deficit, city staff recommended repurposing the 3% cannabis sales tax. Following pushback from council members, Finance Director Carrie Hagerty unveiled a compromise budget on November 10 — featuring a one-time use of $2.6 million in collected weed revenue as well as reductions in personnel spending.

At the December 1 meeting, council began with a public hearing on the budget. Several public speakers pleaded with members to delay a budget vote or leave weed money alone.

“That money represents someone being able to create a job, maybe a restaurant, laundromat, a business, then eventually purchase a home, maybe place his kids in college, maybe stay here in Rockford,” said Kenn Dickens.

Part of the 3% tax supports the REGROW Grant Program, designed to reinvestment in the community and correct the past wrongs of the “war on drugs.”

“As a citizen of Rockford, I say you hold off on voting tonight until you have language written down stating if we run into this deficit situation again, that the re-roll grant is untouchable because you’re removing opportunities,” asked Dickens.

Some on council maintained moving the cannabis funds into the deficit would prevent a property tax hike — what could’ve been the first in more than a decade

“If you want to see people flee Rockford, raise property taxes, and they’ll run faster than I will when I find out my mother-in-law is coming in town,” asserted Ald. Chad Tuneberg (R-3rd Ward). “The City of Rockford makes up about 20% of your overall property taxes. We’re able to balance the budget without, number one, raising property taxes, number two, without cutting essential city services.”

Later in the meeting, members like Ald. Tamir Bell (D-13th Ward) advocated for proposals protecting cannabis revenue. Alongside Ald. Gina Meeks (D-12th Ward) and Ald. Jaime Salgado (D-11th Ward), the leaders pushed to delay a budget vote before offering alternatives.

Meeks asked leaders to potentially hold off on approving the property tax levy — part of a package of votes on 2026’s financial plan. Following Hagerty’s warning the city wouldn’t collect $48 million in revenue if a levy isn’t set before December 30, members rejected a delay 5-8.

Meeks also requested if there’s a surplus in 2026, the city replenish the cannabis fund up to its $2.6 million repurposed. Without that amendment in writing before the meeting, such a proposal required a recess — voted down.

Salgado offered revising raises and salaries for the City of Rockford’s non-union employees — potentially returning around $230,000 to the cannabis fund. Concerns from members led to a 4-9 dismissal.

The accountant/council member’s focus turned to slightly raising property taxes — with an expectation of $6-10 more on homeowners’ bills each year. That amendment failed 3-10.

Between solutions, Mayor Tom McNamara highlighted state-mandated pensions as the growing issue in balancing budgets. In 2013, Rockford contributed $9.6 million into public safety pensions; in the 2026 financial plan, that soars to $40.5 million.

Bell provided one of the last proposed amendments: restricting the use of weed revenue in deficits. Hagerty noted this would immediately create a gap in the 2026 budget — meaning a return to the drawing table, since Illinois requires cities pass balanced plans.

Reaching the meeting’s fifth hour, Bell conceded he may not have the numbers to remove the weed funds out of the deficit, but he advocated for representing his constituents’ expectations for the revenue.

Before the final vote, Ald. Gabrielle Torina spoke “for the record.”

“’Budgets are moral documents,’ that’s one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King,” she began. “They just dont allocate dollars, they declare our values. They show who we believe deserves investment, whose needs can wait, and whose voices are optional.”

Torina added the community may lose faith in the City of Rockford for backtracking on the cannabis funds’ purpose established at its creation in 2020.

Just before 10 p.m., council members voted 7-6 in favor of the 2026 budget (with Ald. Mark Bonne (D-14th Ward) not present).

• Voting Yes:
  • Ald. Tim Durkee (R-1st Ward), Ald. Jonathan Logemann (D-2nd Ward), Ald. Tuneberg, Ald. Kevin Frost (R-4th Ward), Ald. Karen Hoffman (D-8th Ward), Ald. Dawn Granath (D-9th Ward), Ald. Frank Beach (R-10th Ward).
• Voting No:
  • Ald. Torina, Ald. Aprel Prunty (D-6th Ward), Ald. Janessa Wilkins (D-7th Ward), Ald. Salgado, Ald. Meeks, Ald. Bell.

The proposal required 8 votes to pass, with McNamara casting final approval for the financial plan.

“When you look at the priorities of our residents, the priorities of the City of Rockford, this aligns with them,” he told WIFR at the meeting’s conclusion.

“We’re fully funding the safety of our residents and putting that first and foremost. We’re making sure every child can go to college for free. We’re making sure our youth to our seniors can ride our buses for free. We have home repair programs in this budge,” he maintained. “There’s something in this budget for everyone.”

When asked to respond to those who claim the budget breaks community trust, McNamara held the cannabis fund’s annual $850,000 remains untouched for the future.

“Which could go through the regrow process if this council chooses to do so in this year’s budget,” he clarified. “I would also say if any alderman has a plan for to spend those dollars, they can bring that forward at any point, which alderman have, and we have utilized those dollars.”

Bell mentioned he’ll push for an ordinance creating an equity fund from cannabis revenue. That could be voted in within weeks.

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