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Mercyhealth closed the Rockton Avenue campus in July, saying preliminary ideas for the facility included social services agencies or a nursing home.
The Wisconsin-based healthcare company eliminated inpatient services at the Rockton campus in 2020, relocating emergency room services to its new Javon Bea Mercyhealth Riverside hospital.
Mercyhealth said the move was necessary after decreased volume in its emergency departments, an increase in telemedicine, and lower surgery volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mercyhealth’s intent was to donate this property to the City of Rockford to use for community benefit. The mayor declined more than once. The mayor felt the city was not capable of taking on the project. Following that, we extended the same opportunity to more than 50 healthcare facilities, schools and local non-profits. None accepted the donation of the facility and over 30 acres of land,” Bea said in a statement released Wednesday.
“Now, when a black entrepreneur has stepped forward to invest in this property, the mayor has chosen not to support the effort but instead to undermine it. This is more than just shortsighted — it reflects a racially biased double standard. Questioning an individual’s potential for success before they are even given a fair opportunity sends a clear message: city leadership is more comfortable dictating failure than fostering success, particularly on the west side of Rockford,” the statement continued.
Bea went on to say, “If we are truly committed to revitalization, we must stop closing doors and start supporting those willing to take risks. Progress on the west side will not come through rhetoric or selective obstruction. It will come by embracing grassroots efforts, encouraging entrepreneurs of all backgrounds, and creating an environment where opportunity is not denied because of race.”
“The idea that this man is going to come from Minnesota and tell me what we are or are not doing and what our values as a community is, is laughable. He’s the last person I’m going to be lectured by,” McNamara said in a Wednesday interview with Eyewitness News.
On Tuesday night, in a sudden announcement, McNamara released a statement urging the Mercyhealth Board of Directors not to “rubber-stamp” a plan for the purchase of the property without proper vetting of the buyer.
“In an effort to be transparent with the community, I wanted to make the community aware that I have recently heard of a potential transaction, though nothing has been confirmed,” McNamara said in the statement. “What I’ve heard, however, raises serious concerns. The prospective transaction appears to put the property in the hands of an individual/organization that lacks both a proven track record of successful projects and the financial capacity and wherewithal to bring a redevelopment to fruition.”
McNamara did not name the potential buyer, but warned, “Dumping the property to an individual/organization without the resources, plan or capacity to follow through would almost certainly leave the building vacant, creating another source of blight on the west side.”
On Wednesday, McNamara added, “I have not been contacted by any one who may be the developer that he’s about to sell it to. I don’t even know if the person that he’s going to sell it to is a developer.”
He continued, “I am asking them to do their due diligence to whoever they provide this property to. And when I mean due diligence, I’m talking basic due diligence to which the two local ones certainly know what that means. The individual or organization that they provide this property to first needs a plan. Secondly, they need to make sure that this individual or organization has the financial wherewithal to actually perform that plan.”
“We at the city of Rockford stand ready and willing to partner with anyone who wants to develop that has the wherewithal, that has a point, that has incorporated the thoughts and the needs of the residents of the West side of Rockford,” McNamara said.
In 2018, upon Bea’s announcement that the hospital was eliminating inpatient services, McNamara, along with Rep. Maurice West (D), Rep. Dave Vella (D), and Sen. Steve Stadelman (D) pushed back against Bea’s claims of flooding concerns, saying Bea intended to close the Westside campus ever since the announcement of the new, multi-million dollar hospital on east Riverside, despite his repeated assurances to the contrary.
On Tuesday, McNamara said, “This summer marked the ultimate end of Mercyhealth’s ‘one hospital, two campuses’ catch phrase, which was little more than empty words. In reality, the opening of the second hospital ensured the N. Rockton Avenue building would close.”
Two lawsuits, brought by Javon Bea Hospital and Federal Insurance Co., alleged that the City was negligent in maintenance of the storm drain and sewer system near the hospital.
The suit said that on June 18th, 2018, waters backed up and ran toward the hospital, located at 2400 N Rockton Avenue, resulting in a glass window shattering and allowing water to flood into the hospital, resulting in “significant and catastrophic damage.”
In 2023, Judge Lisa Fabiano dismissed with prejudice portions of the lawsuits. The City then filed a motion for a summary judgment in its favor on all remaining claims.
The judge subsequently ruled in favor of the City.
Bea, a Rockford native, has served as the President and CEO of Mercyhealth since 1989. He is credited with much of the growth Mercyhealth has had over the last three decades.
The Riverside hospital was named Mercyhealth Javon Bea Hospital – Riverside when it opened in 2018.
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