58 / 190
2 | The City of Rockford
Napoleon Hill once said, “First comes thought; then organization of that thought into
ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality.” The beginning, he
added, is all about imagination. In Illinois, the pondering on methods to prompt eco-
nomic growth, increased sustainability and a greater quality of life has resulted in
new ideas and new organizational resolve to implement plans resulting in a not-so-
imagined, but very real transformation underway in the Rockford Region.