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MOORE’S SUMMARY: Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara has been tapped to succeed Brad Cole as president and CEO of the Illinois Municipal League.
WHO IS HE? McNamara was elected alderman in 2013 and mayor in 2017. He was unopposed for a second term in 2021 and won a third term with 78% of the vote in 2025. He’s the son of former Rockford Mayor John McNamara and is a Democrat. Before serving in elected office, McNamara was a professional in the insurance industry.
WHY IT MATTERS: The IML represents the interests of the state’s nearly 1,300 municipalities and is one of the most prominent lobbying organizations in the Capitol.
This often means playing defense against supermajority Democrats seeking to impose new mandates — often without funding attached — on local governments and, more recently, pushing back on Pritzker’s attempts to reduce the percentage share of the state’s income tax that gets distributed to municipalities and counties.
The IML is coming off a relatively successful year. It retained the 6.47% share of the state income tax that goes towards the Local Government Distributive Fund. And it stalled the most ambitious elements of Pritzker’s BUILD housing plan, which would have preempted local zoning ordinances to allow multi-unit housing by right on most residentially zoned lots. It would have also expedited timelines for housing permit reviews and inspections and standardized “impact” fees.
MCNAMARA: “At a time that I see the State placing more mandates and taking away more funding from cities, coupled with the federal government pushing more national responsibilities onto states and cities, I feel called to step up and advocate on behalf of our cities and the residents that make up each community,” McNamara said in a statement.
McNamara resigns as mayor August 30. This will allow for a special election to be held in April 2025 to fill the remaining two years of McNamara’s term.
DOMINOS FALLING? McNamara’s departure had at least one elected official making moves with an eye towards the future. Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, a member of House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s leadership team, announced Tuesday that he will run for mayor.
While McNamara’s resignation came as a surprise to some, Cole’s retirement had been long planned. He will leave the IML at the end of the year.
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Brenden Moore
Brenden joined CNI in October, 2025 as a Statehouse reporter. Brenden is a 2017 graduate of DePaul University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science, and a 2018 graduate of the University of Illinois Springfield, where he received his master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting.
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