By The Editorial Board
Rockford Register StarPosted Sep. 7, 2015 at 5:20 PM
When Gov. Bruce Rauner campaigned in 2014 for governor, he spoke in Rockford about how important the city and region are to Illinois' future prosperity. "We'll know how well Illinois is doing by how well Rockford is doing," is essentially what he said several times here.A key part of our state's prosperity is turning around job losses in our state. We're hard at work doing that. Aeorspace firm Woodward, Inc. has opened a new, $250 million factory here. Another example is under construction at Chicago Rockford International Airport, which is building a $40 million project that will vastly expand job opportunities in the Rockford region and be a building block to advance further aerospace sector growth throughout the region, especially at the airport and the adjacent Global Trade Park.The project is the AAR maintenance, repair and overhaul facility — two, 9.5-story hangars that can house any aircraft that flies. This facility will employ 500 to 1,000 people in well-paying jobs overhauling airplanes for major airlines. The prospect for growth in that field is high. AAR is an Illinois company based in Wood Dale. It's the largest such company in the U.S.This project, partly supported by the state of Illinois, also has a key education component that will benefit not just Rockford, but all of Illinois. Rock Valley College has opened a new aviation technology campus across from the future AAR hangars. That will allow students from our community college district — all or parts of five counties — to get an affordable education as an aviation mechanic and get a job at AAR or in one of our many aerospace firms.The governor has said he will evaluate economic development projects based on whether they create jobs, have an educational component and involve a public-private partnership. This project has all three.Local governments have pitched in to help fund this project. And in 2014 the airport was promised that the state would kick in $16.3 million. So far it has received $1.3 million. It still needs the rest of the money in order to complete this project.The immediate need is for $9 million by Sept. 30 to make sure the hangars get constructed so that the business can open in 2016. The contracts were all completed before June 30, so they should not be affected by the lack of a new budget.The buildings have been ordered from a company in Maine and are due to be delivered in sections in September. The foundation is being prepared now. If the state money doesn't flow in September, work will have to stop, leaving construction workers standing around.
Page 2 of 2 - The state's Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is working closely with the airport. DCEO leaders are very positive about AAR's potential to create jobs and opportunities in northern Illinois.The Editorial Board of the Rockford Register Star urges Gov. Rauner to release funds quickly so that the Rockford region can start creating hundreds of much-needed jobs, train students in aviation tech and help jump-start the Illinois Turnaround.
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