City of Rockford true passion for webmaster

By Isaac Guerrero
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
Click here for more information about Isaac Guerrero

ROCKFORD — Chances are Jim Powers was wide-awake and helping make Rockford a better place to live hours before you read this sentence.

He’s usually on the Internet by 4:30 a.m., tweaking one of several Web sites he authors or manages for local nonprofit agencies, including Greater Rockford Transportation Coalition and North End Square Neighborhood Association.

His latest cyberspace creation is rockfordtaxfacts.com, an information clearinghouse for the city’s April 19 sales tax referendum for road improvements. No one told Powers to create the Web site, and no one’s paying him to maintain it.

“I just want the facts to get out there,” Powers said. “This referendum is so critical to Rockford’s future.”

The notion that Rockford can be more vibrant and prosperous than it is today is a bottomless well of inspiration for the 68-year-old Rockford native. He took a job managing property and equipment in the city’s Public Works Department after returning to Rockford in 1987 after a 25-year career in the Army. Powers expanded Rockford’s anti-graffiti program while working for the city.

“I was told to develop a graffiti program and at the time I didn’t even know how to spell ‘graffiti,’ ” Powers said. “But I knew that to do this, I had to get out into the city’s neighborhoods where the people were.”

Powers relished the job.

“As a supervisor, I could get on the radio and say ‘Hey, this person needs help with an issue on Buckbee Street,’ or wherever the problem happened to be. I could break through the red tape just like that. It made you feel good.’ ”

Powers’ anti-graffiti crusade didn’t stop there. He helped develop NoGraf Network, a nonprofit network of 450 anti-graffiti programs in 16 countries around the world.

Powers retired from his city job in 1999, and health problems have slowed his pace. He was diagnosed with chronic lung disease three years ago, and more recently with heart failure. His breath comes in huffs and puffs and is sometimes aided with inhalants and oxygen, though a new medication from his doctor is “giving me strength I haven’t felt in years,” he said.

“Jim is one of the most civic-minded people I’ve come to meet in my time here,” said Bob O’Brien, director of Chicago/Rockford International Airport. “He gets on the phone and he uses e-mail to get the word out, whether it’s to line up support for passenger service at the airport or any of the many other community endeavors he is involved in.”

Even a tumultuous 12-month stint as chairman of the city’s Fire and Police Commission wasn’t enough to sour Powers’ upbeat attitude about Rockford. The three-member commission was heavily criticized a year ago for taking too long to hire a police chief. The criticism grew to a clamor when the panel rescinded an offer to an outside candidate after undisclosed problems arose with his background check. In the end, the commission chose an applicant from inside the department, Rockford native Chet Epperson. Powers’ health problems grew worse last summer, and he resigned from the volunteer post.

“I really got stressed then,” Powers said. “You’re down and people are kicking you. But I still enjoyed that job. The other part of the job that wasn’t as public was being able to see the young guys, the young faces coming in to join up with the police department. There’s a lot of talent there. When you see that, it makes you proud.”

Powers is still involved with North End Neighborhood Association. He manages the group’s Web site and its annual neighborhood garage sale. He’s also vice president of Neighborhood Network, a new umbrella of local neighborhood associations that’s taking shape.

“Neighborhoods need people like Jim Powers because without dedicated volunteers neighborhoods have a tendency to fall apart,” said Ald. Bill Timm, R-9. “Jim’s been a real spark plug in the North End Square neighborhood.”