(City-Only Costs and Returns, 10-Year Perspective) Purpose This policy brief examines the return on investment (ROI to the City of Rock Island) from two comparable potential public policy choices: Subsidizing Sunset Marina , a recreational amenity serving approximately 200 boats . Investing in rapid housing stabilization  for approximately 200 people  experiencing homelessness. This brief is not an argument against Sunset Marina. The marina is a beautiful, distinctive riverfr

January 10, 2025 By Annika O’Melia annika@rockislandline.com (updated to say Illinois Attorney General's Office, not State's Attorney's Office) An Illinois Attorney General's Office letter urging Rock Island to rescind its Social Service License Ordinance is forthcoming, according to Illinois State Representative Gregg Johnson. A source with direct knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity, said Johnson informed Rock Island city leaders—including Mayor Ashley Harris an

Moral injury  is the harm that occurs when a person is forced to witness, participate in, or live alongside actions that violate their deepest moral beliefs — especially when those actions are carried out by systems that are supposed to protect people. It is not burnout. It is not compassion fatigue. It is the wound that forms when systems fail to take responsibility for foreseeable harm, leaving individuals to witness outcomes they have no realistic power to prevent. The gif

What disability integration taught me in 6th grade — and how Rock Island keeps her spirit In sixth grade at Eugene Field Elementary School, I had the job of grinding a classmate’s food so he could eat lunch with the rest of us. Born with a severe form of cerebral palsy, he needed help eating, and our school invited his peers—children—to step into that role. I can still feel the small hand-crank grinder in my palms, see the food softening as I worked, and remember lifting the