ROCKFORD, Ill. (WQRF) — Some Rockford residents believe their neighbor is operating a drug den, and one of them decided to take a stand by coming up with a visual display to let people know that any kind of drug activity next door won’t be tolerated.
A sign, posted on a neighbors’ fence, reads: “CRACK HOUSE NEXT DOOR.”
Neighbors say the house has been part of that activity for some time now.
“It’s been a problem house for ten years,” said a man who lives on the block.
“I don’t want my grandkids raised up this way, seeing this stuff,” said a 70-year-old woman who lives nearby.
It’s not something you see everyday, a sign in a Rockford yard calling attention to the house next door, accusing it of being a drug house.
“The guy that lives there, though, he’s actually a good guy, he’s just super old and lets them do what they want,” a neighbor said.
Neighbors aren’t shocked by the allegation on the sign: they’re hoping it catches the eye of police and someone who can take action.
“I hope they just go over there, board it up and shut it down,” a woman said.
Neighbors say the house has had a reputation for illegal activity for over a decade now and say there have been multiple overdoses there over the years, two that allegedly turned fatal.
“They dragged the body out of the house, way out in the front yard, and then they went in the garage and found the other one,” a neighbor claims.
While the medical emergencies are very concerning to neighbors, the high foot traffic also makes them uneasy.
“You’ll see people come and get dropped off [and then] within five or ten minutes, another car will pull up, someone will come out, that car will leave, and that’ll happen all day, all night,” a concerned neighbor said.
The alleged activities are also not contained to the house. One resident says it’s spreading to the area around the property, too.
“Last night or the day before, there was a pipe sticking out of the ground over there somewhere, and that’s where they’ve been throwing their needles, because they got their trash cut off,” he said.
Other drug houses are suspected to be in the area.
“There’s two down that way, and there’s one down the next block, on the corner,” a woman said.
Residents say that, in the end, they hope the candid sign calling out the house next door has a positive result across the neighborhood.
“Then everybody else might get the hint,” the woman said.
Police say they’re not aware of the house being a drug house, but they are looking into it. Neighbors claim to see police officers there all the time.
The sign, which was up this morning, has been taken down.