ROCKFORD, IL — State funding could be used to demolish the former Singer Mental Health Center and prepare the property for redevelopment.
State Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Loves Park, said a $500 million “Surplus to Success” program was approved as part of the state’s budget. It targets five vacant, state-owned properties including Singer, 4402 N. Main St., and four others from across the state.
“Singer and these four other properties, the conditions have deteriorated so badly, it really presents an obstacle for redevelopment,” Stadelman said. “And so what the state did is to allocate $500 million to get these properties shovel ready for potential redevelopment plans.”
The other four sites include the 160-acre Dwight Correctional Center; the 100-acre Jacksonville Developmental Center; the 100-acre Lincoln Developmental Center; and 70 acres of unutilized land in Kankakee at the Shapiro Development Center.
In the case of Singer, which is on a 100-acre property, that likely means demolition, Stadelman said. But the funding could be used for other measures.
Stadelman has said he has heard calls for the property to be used for mental health services even as the industry has moved away from institutionalized care. He has also heard calls for it to be put to use to serve U.S. military veterans.
State officials would like local communities to take the lead on determining what’s best for the sites.
The effort to redevelop the Singer property prompted Rockford Ald. Gina Meeks, D-12, to call for a meeting of local officials, health professionals and residents to talk about the “state of mental health in Rockford and the region’s next steps following the 2012 closure of the Singer Mental Health Center.”
Since the approval of a half-cent mental health sales tax in 2020, the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board has expanded mental health services across the region. The 0.5% sales tax on general merchandise produces about $19 million annually.
It provides funding for more than three dozen programs including emergency response programs, intervention programs for at-risk youth, expanded treatment for youth and adults and treatment for the mentally ill inside the Winnebago County Jail.
But residents are seeing panhandlers seemingly at every major intersection. And they associate panhandling with homelessness and mental illness, Meeks said.
“To me, this is just a community conversation around mental health,” Meeks said. “The last town hall that I had, a lot of conversations came out about panhandling. So I really want to get to the nitty gritty about panhandling, mental health and all of those factors that are playing a large part into what is going on.”
The community conversation is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at Grace Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 4301 N. Main St.
By the time Singer closed in 2012, it was underutilized and struggling with budget shortfalls.
“We know that they’re demolishing the site,” Meeks said. “What we don’t know is what’s coming next. We can talk about the things that could potentially be there. But right now we need to have a community conversation about mental health.”
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey