The Human Rights Campaign recently released its annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI) scorecard. The MEI examines the laws, policies and services of municipalities and rates them on the basis of their inclusivity of LGBTQ people who live and work in the city. The City has participated in the scorecard since 2018 and has improved by 41 points. For 2025, the City scored 100/100 for the fourth year in a row.
Among other things, the City has adopted a Non-Discrimination Ordinance for City contractors; included transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits; established a Community Relations Commission to address issues of equality, equity and discrimination; proclaimed June as LGBTQ Pride Month; and created LGBTQIA+ Liaisons for both the City and the Rockford Police Department.
"The MEI Scorecard serves as a vital benchmark, offering cities a way to track their progress and ensure accountability," says Mayor Tom McNamara. "We’re proud to be a city that reflects equality and representation for the LGBTQ+ community.”
View the full survey at www.hrc.org/mei.
The 2025 MEI is the fourteenth annual edition and rates a total of 506 cities on 49 different criteria from every state in the nation. The MEI is the only comprehensive nationwide assessment of LGBTQ+ equality in the areas of municipal policies, laws and services.