ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Signs featuring an arched “Welcome” populate the parking lot near the historic watch factory in Rockford.
As the 150-year-old property awaits development to become an apartment building, the City of Rockford sees potential for other new life in the Madison and Oak Street area. The tool to revive the quiet section of downtown: a tax increment financing, or TIF, district.
“TIF is a complicated thing and there isn’t probably a great elevator pitch,” admits Ald. Mark Bonne (D-14th Ward) with a chuckle…