ROCKFORD, IL — City Council delayed a planned vote on an acting mayor to give city attorneys more time to review the legal process as Ald. Kevin Frost questions whether the city even has the authority to appoint a short-term mayor.
Frost, the Republican Fourth Ward alderman and lawyer, said naming an acting mayor to hold down the fort after Mayor Tom McNamara’s planned resignation is at odds with his reading of state statute. Frost argues that it would not be legal for City Council to go forward with the plan to select an acting mayor because there are more than 28 months left in McNamara’s term.
“The only way an acting mayor gets elected is if it’s less than 28 months,” Frost said, contradicting the city’s legal opinion. “If it’s greater than 28 months, they want to have a special election as quick as possible for that person to fill the remainder of Tom’s term.”
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Given the questions that are being raised, McNamara said he is asking City Council to delay the planned vote on an acting mayor to give the city legal department more time to review the matter.
“I sent an email to the aldermen asking them on behalf of staff to lay it over this evening,” McNamara said. “We have had a number of aldermen want more discussion about the process and then we also have had aldermen stating they don’t believe we should have an acting mayor based on state statute.”
McNamara said a special City Council meeting could be called Aug. 10 for selecting an acting mayor once there has been time to double check the concerns that are being raised about the process and its legalities.
The plan had been to select an acting mayor from among the alderman. That person would serve as an interim mayor from the time McNamara resigns at the end of August until a new mayor is elected in April 2027 and takes office May 3, 2027.
That plan is now in doubt.
It is possible that the city Council would have to select rotating aldermen to serve as chairman to run their meetings and there wouldn’t be an acting mayor in place.
Questions about the process come after the city’s Democratic caucus on July 29 chose to back Ald. Gabrielle Torina for acting mayor, but only six of the city’s 10 Democrats cast votes. Torina received three votes with Ald. Janessa Neal and Ald. Jaime Salgado casting votes for themselves.
Ald. Mark Bonne, D-14, said it is best to slow down to make sure City Council gets this decision right.
“I have not read the state law myself and I am not an attorney obviously, but if there is any question about what the correct process is, I think we need to make sure we get it right because it’s an important decision,” Bonne said. “And I don’t think the Democratic caucus on Friday night was any kind of a confidence builder for the public in the Council’s ability to lead itself without the mayor.”
McNamara surprised the city by announcing he is resigning mid-way through his third term as mayor to become the leader of the Illinois Municipal League. The current chief executive officer of the Illinois Municipal League was paid $542,293 in 2025, according to published reports.
McNamara is timing his departure to make sure voters can choose the next mayor during the April 6, 2027, municipal election. State Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, said he plans to run for mayor during the spring election.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Questions swirl around Rockford mayoral replacement process
