Residents of one Rockford neighborhood have some harsh words to say Tuesday night about Rosecrance addiction treatment centers. Neighbors spoke against the organization expanding at a Rockford zoning meeting Tuesday night.
"They add this, they add that and they lie," says Rockford resident Gay Henderson.
A request from Rosecrance substance treatment center to build an administrative office building at its University Drive facility, turned into a venting session for neighbors of the site at a Rockford zoning board meeting Tuesday night.
"You're pushing this and you're pushing that," Henderson says to a Rosecrance respresentative.
The facility serves as a recovery center for adolescents addicted to drugs and alcohol. The teens check themselves in and are allowed to leave. But some neighbors say it scares them when the recovering addicts wander away onto their property.
One neighbor says, "I understand that they have problems, but then as a concerned father and husband, now we're having escapees that just want to get away and can they come into our house?"
Rosecrance representatives say this is the first time they're hearing many of these concerns and they're happy to address them with neighbors. They say employees follow the runaways, to make sure they don't harm themselves or others.
"These are children, these are children with issues," says Susan Rice, Rosecrance Director of Public Relations. "When they are facing these types of issues it causes a great deal of emotional distress. They will walk away from campus and per our agreement with the community we accompany them. We want to reengage them and bring them back to the facility so they can continue treatment."
The zoning board approved the new administrative building. It will take up five acres of a 30-acre plot of land Rosecrance owns at Lyford and University.
Neighbors are worried Rosecrance will develop the rest of the land with more treatment centers. But the company says they have no future plans for the land. It's being leased as farm land.
Neighbors brought up one instance where police had to handcuff a Rosecrance runaway two weeks ago. Employees say that was unique, and done because they feared the teen would hurt himself.
Rosecrance hopes to break ground on the new administrative facility in November. It will house forty employee offices and no patient care.

Also Tuesday night, zoning board members push back discussing a proposal to operate a sexually-oriented store on East State Street.
Sweet Dreams already has a sign hanging and an answering machine recording, saying the owners are on vaction.
An investigation is underway to determine whether they have been operating illegally, without the proper zoning and two special use permits.
Neighboring business owners are strongly against the proposal, which includes an adult book store and massage parlor and features nude models.
It's across the street from Rockford College and the YWCA, that holds counseling for victims of sexual assault.
"It's the type of business that exploits women and to have to have them drive by there in order to access their services with us, I think would be difficult for many of the women that we provide services for," says Maureen Mostacci, director of Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling, run out of the YWCA.
The proposal is next up for discussion June 17th at 6:30, back at Rockford city hall.