Living in Freeport provides a well-balanced mix of small-town comforts and large-city amenities. Our residents enjoy quality health care, educational excellence in public and private venues, a diverse and well-managed park system, a state-of-the-art library, and a variety of entertainment, gastronomic, and cultural options. Volunteers pull together to operate an extensive network of non-profit organizations, and generally, people know their neighbors…and like them.

As for commutes– is seven minutes short enough? That’s about how long it takes to get from most driveways to most businesses. Ten minutes tops, even if you hit the lights.

Yet, our proximity to Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee provides Freeporters with all the perks of a major metropolitan area without the day-to-day hassles. Within 1-2 hours our citizens can access a plethora of big-city museums, sporting events, and shopping opportunities (though many will choose to take the five-minute drive to Park Hills Public Golf Course and fit in nine holes instead).

Stretching north from Freeport, Illinois, to the Wisconsin state line, the Jane Addams Trail is a natural wonder. Expect to see birds and wild animals - from aerial hunters, such as owls and hawks, to deer, squirrels, and chipmunks. The trail's crushed limestone surface (available to snowmobilers) and 4.1 miles of asphalt paved path may be used by hikers, bicyclists, and cross-country skiers. This multi-use 17 mile recreational trail offers beautiful scenery and is highlighted by 22 bridges passing through wetlands, creeks, woods, prairies, geological formations and farmland. The Jane Addams Trail connects into downtown Freeport (opened June 2015) at Tutty's Crossing Trailhead, leading visitors to a wide range of lodging, facilities, restaurants and specialty stores. Future plans will tie the trail to the Pecatonica Prairie Path allowing bikers a trail from Rockford to Freeport and north to trails in Wisconsin connecting to Madison.

Our city’s infrastructure is designed to enhance quality of life and make our city run efficiently. For example, at-the curb recycling for paper, glass, and cardboard is available for all city residents, and we’re constantly looking at new ways to support our community.

The city also offers through the haulers a curbside landscape waste program beginning mid-April and running through mid-November. All residences of six family units or fewer are eligible for the landscape waste curbside programs. Each annual subscription to the landscape waste service will include the rental of one 65-gallon tote. Please call the haulers to sign up for the landscape waste program.

Freeport is a wonderful mix of old and new. Fortune 500 companies like Newell Rubbermaid occupy some of the oldest buildings downtown, while antique stores and mom-and-pop restaurants enjoy software developers as neighbors. Turn-of-the-century Victorian homes co-exist with modern senior-living facilities. We have a leading-edge hospital and cancer center, but our history of quality healthcare extends back into the 1800’s. Our excellent schools, from preschool to community college, offer both traditional and up-to-the-minute tools needed to excel in the future, and our state-of-the-art library is located in the heart of our historic city center.

Freeport boasts more than 800 acres of parks, with activities from an old-fashioned carousel to just enjoying the beauty of Yellow Creek from a paddle boat. We have a 36-hole golf course and driving range, as well as an aquatic center, nature preserve and center, boat rental operation, a skate park and an athletic complex.

In the arts, Winneshiek Theater is the country’s oldest continuously running amateur theater, and we’re especially proud that Freeport High School has a Grammy Award winning music program. We have concerts in the park on summer evenings, a children’s choir and theater group, a wonderful Arts Center and an impressive historical museum.

Freeport is home to several large manufacturers including Newell Rubbermaid, Honeywell, and Titan Tire Company, as well as a number of mid-size manufacturers including Tri-Star Metals and Seaga Manufacturing. Both our industrial and business parks have space for expansion. Several insurance firms have significant offices in Freeport, including QBE, Sentry Insurance, and MetLife. Many service and retail businesses round out the business picture for our City, some of them supporting the agricultural heritage of our County.

Interested in learning more about our community? Check out greaterfreeport.com!