Local Rockford Women Try To Clean Up 7th Street

Rockford, Illinois- Jane La Grande has lived in this neighborhood near seventh street for more than 50 years. "It was good," says La Grande. "Our kids grew up here. They went to Kishwaukee School. You could go to bed at night and leave our doors open and not have to worry about it." But about 20 years ago, she and her neighbor, Donna Holets began to notice a change. "The prostitutes moved in," says Holets. "People weren`t taking care of their yards." "The houses were going down, the grass was growing tall and people who were not very desirable moved in," says La Grande. Tired of seeing their once glorious neighborhood being overrun by crime and trash, Jane and Donna decided to take matters into their own hands, and clean up their neighborhood themselves." "Jane and I have been doing it for the past ten years," says Holets. "Jane and I go up and down the alleys and pick up trash and keep our street up by picking up the papers." They also make sure to report any suspicious activity to the police and mayor`s office. Their devotion to their neighborhood caught the attention of Charley Schaefer in the Rockford Neighborhood Standards Department. "This is an example of their good work being reflected on their neighbbors and everyone seems to be picking it up around here," says Schaefer. "These are two ladies who decided they had enough and are stepping forward and taking charge of their neighborhood and that`s what we need." La Grande and Holets agree that if neighborhoods are going to improve, then the people that live there need to get involved. "You have to be interested," says La Grande. "You have to know what`s going on. You have to be careful. Some of my friends say, `Aren`t you afraid to live here, Jane?`. I say no, because I`m aware of what`s going on."