The Chicago Rockford International Airport has received official approval from a federal agency to resume work on the $50 million expansion. The expansion is anticipated to bring the community more businesses and jobs. A conservation organization, though, is acting rapidly to stop the bulldozers.
The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee lives in the coveted prairie habitat, which activists claim is threatened by a project. During the past two years, the conflict over an 8,000-year-old remnant grassland in the center of one of the biggest freight airports in the nation has drawn attention to the state of Illinois’ reducing prairie ecosystems.
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However, the plan is opposed by the Natural Land Institute, one of the major conservation organizations in the area. The organization has stated that it is not against airport development. Only this specific design because a busy road cuts across the prairie.
The airport allegedly started the project in 2021 without notifying its previous conservation partner, according to the institute. The Bell Bowl originally covered around 25 acres, but prior construction decreased that size to the current 15. Almost two-thirds of the enlargement has been finished.
More on the Chicago Rockford airport expansion
In order to make your experience at RFD safe, effective, and hassle-free, more than $183 million has been invested in infrastructure upgrades and facilities over the past few years. Local, state, and federal grants provided the bulk of the funding for these initiatives.
RFD is now in a position to handle the enormous increase in passenger and freight service demand. In spite of the airport’s aggressive completion and investment in numerous recent capital improvement projects over the past few years, RFD is exceptional in that they have concurrently significantly reduced their debt.
Their property tax rate was reduced by 62% as of January 1, 2007, which has saved taxpayers.
