Northern Illinois Council of Governments

The Rockford region is a wonderful place to live, grow a family, and start a business. But it can be tough for our area to stand out as a critical economy to state and federal governments when we live in the shadow of larger markets such as Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison.

Building a thriving business community requires a coordinated effort among governing bodies, aka council of governments (COG), to make DC, Springfield, and prospective business sit up and take notice.

A council of governments is a voluntary association of local governments designed to promote intergovernmental cooperation among its members to plan and solve problems on a multijurisdictional basis. A COG is not a government, and it does not have the authority to levy taxes, pass ordinances, or regulate local governments.

When the pandemic hit, almost every metro area in Illinois already had a council of government established, working with local elected mayors and the Illinois Municipal League. However, northern Illinois municipalities west of McHenry had very little coordination among mayors on how to best advocate for the region.

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, along with Mayor Morris of Belvidere and Mayor Jury of Loves Park, led the formation of the Northern Illinois Council of Governments (NorthCOG) as a new program of Region 1 Planning Council and invited elected leaders across the region to participate.
NorthCOG is an organization through which individual counties, municipalities, and other local governmental bodies can coordinate their efforts, allowing them to:

• Discuss and resolve regional issues of mutual concern.
• Jointly introduce, support, or oppose state and federal legislation where it is deemed in the best interest of the region.
• Develop and advocate for shared state and federal legislative priorities.
• Establish multi-jurisdictional partnerships, procurements, and joint ventures to modernize and reduce the cost of local government operations and services.
• Study, report, and make recommendations on innovative, proactive solutions to regional issues and best practices in good governance.
• Foster dialogue on best practices and share the efficiencies of shared priorities, resources, knowledge, challenges, and opportunities.
• Advocate for policy set by the Region 1 Planning Council governing board.
• Engage in statewide policy and advocacy to make sure we “punch above our weight” to secure state and federal resources for our region.

NorthCOG membership comprises Boone County, Winnebago County, City of Belvidere, City of Loves Park, City of Rockford, City of South Beloit, Village of Machesney Park, Village of Roscoe, Village of Winnebago, Village of Cherry Valley, City of Oregon, Region 1 Planning Council, Rockford Park District, Rockford Public Schools, Belvidere Community Unit School District 100, Four Rivers Sanitation Authority, City of Freeport, Village of Rockton, and Chicago-Rockford International Airport.

Representing 650,000 residents, NorthCOG is a bipartisan, rural/urban effort recognized by state and federal leadership as a model of how to organize a region with one-voice.

Region 1 Planning Council (R1) is a nonprofit government organization providing powerful data, grant, and planning services for northern Illinois. Visit www.r1planning.org to learn more.

The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce.