Rockford Aldermen OKs Funding For AAR Facility At RFD

There's some movement on the funding needed to build a $41 million jet repair hub at the Rockford airport. The Rockford City Council has approved spending its $5 million portion toward the facility. Our partners at Eyewitness News report:

[The] Council voted on the proposal during tonight's committee meeting, and then held a special full council session to pass the proposal.  This is the first time the city has done held a special session since going to their new city council format.

Aldermen wanted to speed up the process so they could have a contractor ready to start construction in the spring. The city is estimating the hub will bring 500 new jobs to the area---paying up to 50,000 dollars.

Other local officials continue to discuss their proposed share of the total. It appears Winnebago County leaders could approve their spending this week. Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen joined “Riley & Scot” to update the progress on the funding for the facility:

It all comes after a story in the Register Star that stated aldermen and county board members had questions about millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for the AAR building:

No one involved in talks among city, county and airport officials say the unanswered questions are a deal-breaker for the much-anticipated project, which promises to bolster the region’s aerospace industry with hundreds of well-paid aviation mechanic jobs.

But the maintenance, repair and overhaul facility could be delayed if cost-sharing agreements among the city, county and airport aren’t inked before the end of the month.