Rockford removes streetlights to save money

ROCKFORD — The city of Rockford is getting a little darker under a plan to save $500,000 by removing 2,400 streetlights.

The Rockford Register Star reports that city officials and ComEd crews have already removed more than a third of the targeted streetlights.

Alderman Linda McNeely says some residents are unhappy with the plan. She says they’re complaining that it is too dark to see anything when they come home at night.

Marcy Leach is Rockford’s engineering operations manager, and she says the city spent hundreds of hours determining which lights to remove to make sure adequate light remains.

Leach says the Public Works Department is working with the Rockford police to make sure safety is maintained.