28 Jan Rock Island Mayor touts ‘wonderful’ work of Downtown Alliance at 2025 State of the City Address

Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms praised the work of the Rock Island Downtown Alliance during his 2025 State of the City Address on Jan. 28 at Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel.

“This is still a new organization that is doing wonderful things,” Thoms said of the Downtown Alliance, which was established in 2023 to manage the City’s 65-block Downtown Special Service Area (SSA).

Mayor Thoms highlighted the organization’s contributions to the City’s Rebuild Downtown Project as well as the services Downtown Alliance Ambassadors provide to maintain a clean, safe and beautiful downtown, such as picking up litter, giving directions to visitors and solving problems as they arise in the public realm.

“You ought to see the amount of trash they pick up. It’s quite a bit,” Thoms said. “It’s also amazing when we have visitors or a convention come and people are staying at the Holiday Inn or other places, those guys are there welcoming people at the door. They’re opening the door for them and welcoming them to the City. That’s what we need and have now.”

Thank you to Mayor Thoms for recognizing the successful partnership between the City and Downtown Alliance.