Open letter to Mayor Tom McNamara and City Council, 

The coronavirus crisis, now officially a worldwide pandemic, is ravaging our Rockford community. Working people already are seeing reduced, and even entirely eliminated, paychecks, and they will find it difficult if not impossible to pay the rent or mortgage beginning next month.

We the undersigned are calling on you to act urgently to prevent what could potentially be thousands of working people facing eviction, bankruptcy, or both. We call on you to specifically:

1.) Calling for an indefinite freeze on collection of all rent, mortgage, and utility payments throughout the duration of the crisis.

2.) Ban all coronavirus-related home foreclosures.

3.) Ban all economic evictions and late fees.

4.) Require landlords, utilities, and residential mortgage-holders to work out payment plans that allow tenants and homeowners who are suffering economically due to the coronavirus epidemic up to 24 months to fulfill their payment obligations. Without reasonable repayment plans and timelines, tenants and homeowners will face crushing debt once the crisis is over.

5.) Require all residential landlords to extend expiring leases until at least three months after the end date of the emergency declaration.

6.) Explore all avenues to compensate all workers & owners impacted by the sudden restaurant and bar shutdowns instituted by the Governor.