Village of Rockton bidding fond farewell to Planning and Development Administrator
Tricia Diduch will become Byron's City Administrator. Her final day with the Village of Rockton was August 22, 2025.
Rockton's Planning and Development Administrator, Tricia Diduch, will become Byron's City Administrator. Her final day with the Village of Rockton was August 22, 2025.
Diduch was hired by the Village of Rockton in May 2013, initially to work on economic development on the E. Rockton Rd. corridor and other short-term and long-term planning issues.
“Because I was replacing the part-time code enforcement officer, I also had property maintenance violations to handle,” Diduch said.
“The Planning Commission has pretty important tasks, like reviewing all zoning requests but also large-scale commercial developments as well as all the design review responsibilities for Downtown Rockton’s facade improvements. Luckily, it’s led by Brent Murray, who, along with his fellow commissioners, takes the momentous duty of long term planning for the community very seriously but also adds a nice camaraderie to its official duties,” Diduch said.
Diduch said, “The ZBA is more singularly tasked with zoning requests of an immediate nature, like approving special use permits, variances, and annexations, but Gary Kovanda has done a great job leading a diverse group of professional backgrounds with his longtime experience in the States Attorney’s Office on zoning matters. Historic Preservation has been led by local architect Chris Anderson for many years and has found a great group of residents who are passionate about historic preservation.”
Diduch quickly became a familiar face in the Village, going above and beyond her initial duties, taking the lead by chairing several events.
Diduch reflects, “As the Rockton and Roscoe Chambers moved towards consolidation, I also saw that many stores were starting to coordinate events.”
“As the Village stepped up to help with these events," she said, "there was a need to keep certain events Rockton-based as they didn’t make sense for the Stateline Chamber to take ownership under the new merged format.”
“That morphed into my position taking on many of the duties typical of a downtown business association (like Downtown Beloit and Downtown Rockford have). The difference between a chamber and a DBA is that a DBA is hyper-focused on a downtown area versus being open to all businesses within its greater territory.”
The full list of events organized by the unofficial group of business leaders are Yeti Fest, Easter Egg Hunt, May Day Faerie Festival, Pelican Fest, IRONMAN Spectator Party, River Market, Summerpalooza, Sidewalk Sale, Main St. Trick or Treat, Jingle Bell ROCKton, Small Business Saturday. They also keep the over 40 year tradition of the Christmas Walk going.
Holly Hartley was hired by Diduch as a “Special Events Assistant” in May 2024. Hartley's duties were to help with set up and tear down at events, sell merchandise at special events, and to provide information on all of the happenings of downtown Rockton.
“During my time I got to participate in Pelican Fest, Yeti Fest, Ironman, Rockton River Market and Summerpal0oza,” Hartley said.
“Tricia is and was a great asset to the downtown Rockton area. She brought a wealth of knowledge, creativity, dedication, reliability, and a strong commitment to quality to the Village of Rockton. Her absence will surely be felt.”
Diduch said, “It has been great having Holly Hartley and Ryan Bahling help with executing events. Every little bit of help has helped tremendously. Holly brought a lot of contacts from the local musician scene, and Ryan always said yes to whatever task that needed to be tackled. “
“There are so many people I’m thankful for in my life. In Rockton, longtime Rockton Mayor Dale Adams gave me a chance in Rockton twelve years ago, and the wide support I’ve had from former and current trustees was the strong foundation I had to see opportunities for Rockton and take them,“ Diduch said. “This same support continued with Mayor John Peterson.”
Peterson said, “It has been a pleasure working with Tricia over these past many years. So much of what makes Rockton awesome is because of her hard work, creativity and dedication to our community.”
“I am excited for her to take on these new challenges and have every confidence she will flourish in her new role. Tricia has had a huge long lasting impact on our village and it has been fun watching her grow in her role with the village. She is going to do great things in Byron!”
Diduch will be filling the shoes of her retiring predecessor, Byron's City Administrator Brian Brooks, as best as possible. She says Brooks is leaving a really strong organization. “I look forward to continuing that and building new relationships with Byron stakeholders. I am passionate about working in public administration at the local level. I cannot imagine doing anything but working in this complex local government environment until I retire,” Diduch said.
“State and national politics dominate the news but local government is the real application of government for residents. Water, sewer and trash pick up are essential services, we all want to safely drink our water, flush our toilets, and have our garbage picked up. We also need to feel safe with quality police, fire and EMS services. Local units of government are at a critical point right now with funding streams in flux and residents needing financial relief,” Diduch said.
"Local governments are in need of really smart leaders to implement innovative solutions and to manage services economically, efficiently and effectively to meet increasing community needs. It is like working with a giant Rubik's Cube where the cube is always changing. This is wonderful work for people who want to put their smarts to work for their community.”
“I am incredibly fortunate to have found this home in Rockton, and I look forward to continuing on in Byron,” Diduch said.
