Editing Rockford, Illinois (section)

===21st century===
During the 2000s, a movement began to reverse urban blight of downtown Rockford, which had begun in the 1960s. After an 18-month multi-million dollar renovation and expansion, the Coronado Theatre was reopened in 2001.<ref name="Coronado PAC"/> In 2008, the MetroCentre downtown arena completed a $20 million renovation (renamed the [[BMO Harris Bank Center]] in 2011).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rrstar.com/x1768843713/MetroCentre-revamp-project-winding-down-revenue-going-up|title=MetroCentre revamp project winding down, revenue going up|last=Wiser|first=Mike|date=July 11, 2008|website=Rockford Register Star|access-date=June 26, 2014}}
</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rrstar.com/x181940245/RAVE-to-sell-naming-rights-to-Rockfords-MetroCentre|title=Rockford MetroCentre has new name: BMO Harris Bank Center|last=Kolkey|first=Jeff|date=August 11, 2011|website=Rockford Register Star|access-date=June 26, 2014}}
</ref> In 2009, the downtown pedestrian mall was removed as part of a street refurbishment project, restoring Main Street (Illinois Route 2) to two-lane traffic for the first time in nearly 45 years.<ref name="Kolkey" />

Prior to the onset of the [[Great Recession in the United States|Great Recession]], housing in Rockford was affected by catastrophic weather events. In 2006 and 2007, Keith Creek underwent [[100-year flood|100-year flooding events]], damaging hundreds of older homes on the near east side of the city. In response, the city secured [[Federal Emergency Management Agency|FEMA]] grants, demolishing over 100 homes; to reduce the severity of future flooding events, the creek is being reconstructed (through 2019) and left as greenspace.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rrstar.com/article/20091009/News/310099882|title=Keith Creek home demolition to start soon|last=Kolkey|first=Jeff|date=October 9, 2009|website=Rockford Register Star|access-date=June 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rrstar.com/article/20131213/NEWS/131219751/10330/NEWS|title=An empowered Rockford neighborhood celebrates accomplishments|last=Green|first=Chris|date=December 13, 2013|website=Rockford Register Star|access-date=June 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdn.rockfordil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2019-2023-Capital-Improvement-Plan_Council-Approved-120318.pdf|title=2019-2023 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM|website=City of Rockford (IL)|page=17}}</ref> As an effect of the recession, by 2013, thirty-two percent of mortgages in the city were [[Upside-down mortgage|upside-down]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324324404579043300994815702|title=Welcome to Rockford, Ill, the Underwater Mortgage Capital of America|last=Dougherty|first=Conor|date=September 8, 2013|website=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=June 26, 2013}}</ref> While remaining the largest city in Illinois outside Chicago and its suburbs, estimated population decline from 2010 to 2017 led Rockford to be overtaken by Joliet and Naperville (the latter, slightly), effectively making it the fifth-largest city in Illinois.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/rockfordcityillinois/LND110210|title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Rockford city, Illinois|website=Census Bureau QuickFacts|language=en-US|access-date=November 1, 2018}}</ref>

From 2014 to 2018, the unemployment rate in Rockford has fallen from 12.9 percent to 4.4 percent (the lowest since 2000).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.il_rockford_msa.htm|title=Economy at a Glance|date=June 20, 2014|website=Bureau of Labor Statistics|access-date=June 26, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rrstar.com/news/20180621/unemployment-falls-across-rockford-region|title=Unemployment falls across Rockford region|last=Kolkey|first=Jeff|date=June 21, 2018|website=Rockford Register Star|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref> While predominately a manufacturing community since World War II, Rockford has struggled to diversify its industrial base. Shifting from agricultural machinery and furniture, manufacturing in the city remains dominated by fasteners, automotive suppliers (representing FCA Belvidere Assembly), and the aerospace industry ([[Woodward, Inc.|Woodward]] and [[Collins Aerospace]]; the latter, tracing its roots to [[Sundstrand Corporation]]). In 2012, Woodward selected suburban Loves Park for a $200 million manufacturing campus toward its energy control and optimization systems.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.rrstar.com/article/20120823/Blogs/308239865|title = Woodward picks Loves Park for $200M expansion|date = August 23, 2012|access-date = June 28, 2014|website = Rockford Register Star|last = Gary|first = Alex}}</ref> [[Boeing]] included Rockford in a list of five finalists to manufacture the [[Boeing 777X|777X]] during union disputes in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2014/01/09/illinois-had-shot-to-land-777x-plant/|title = Illinois had shot to land 777X plant|date = January 9, 2014|access-date = June 28, 2014|website = Chicago Tribune|last = Karp|first = Gregory}}</ref> In 2016, [[AAR Corp]]oration opened a [[Maintenance (technical)|MRO]] facility at the Rockford airport with a hangar large enough to fit a [[Boeing 747-8]].

During the 2010s, all three major health care providers in Rockford underwent major expansions of their facilities. SwedishAmerican, in partnership with the [[University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center]], opened a $39 million Regional Cancer Center in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rrstar.com/article/20131009/News/131009811|title=New SwedishAmerican cancer center opens next week in Rockford|last=Westphal|first=Melissa|date=October 9, 2013|website=Rockford Register Star|access-date=June 28, 2014}}</ref> In 2014, [[Mercyhealth|MercyHealth]] (based in [[Janesville, Wisconsin]]) acquired Rockford Health System, the operator of Rockford Memorial Hospital. In 2019, MercyHealth opened Javon Bea Hospital-Riverside (named after the MercyHealth CEO and its Riverside Boulevard/Interstate 90 location); its second hospital in Rockford, the $505 million complex was the largest construction project in the history of the city.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rrstar.com/article/20160302/NEWS/160309847|title=Negotiations continue as city tries to keep MercyRockford from moving $485M project to Wisconsin|last=Leaf|first=Brian|date=March 2, 2016|website=Rockford Register Star|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mercyhealthsystem.org/press-release/mercyhealth-breaks-ground-485-million-womens-childrens-hospital-rockford/|title=Mercyhealth breaks ground on $485 million women's and children's hospital in Rockford|date=June 6, 2016|website=Mercy Health|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rrstar.com/news/20170928/construction-on-pace-for-new-mercyhealth-hospital|title=Construction on pace for new Mercyhealth hospital|last=Green|first=Chris|date=September 28, 2017|website=Rockford Register Star|access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>

In July 2024, a [[Severe weather sequence of July 13–16, 2024#Rockford, Illinois|200-year flooding event]] overwhelmed the city's [[Stormwater#Stormwater management|stormwater management]] systems, killing at least one.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wifr.com/2024/07/16/rockford-area-flash-floods-turn-fatal-keeping-community-edge/ |title=Rockford-area flash floods turn fatal, keeping community on edge |publisher=[[WIFR-LD]] |date=July 15, 2024 |access-date=August 8, 2024 }}</ref>