New office will be 15 miles south near I-39
State officials have confirmed that the Rockford west-side driver services facility will close once the lease expires July 29, and a new facility will open in September more than 15 miles away at 4752 Baxter Road along I-39 near the southern Winnebago County line.
Beth Kaufman, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, said negotiations with the landlord over maintenance and repairs fell through.
Once the Auburn Street office closes, drivers needing commercial driver’s license services will be directed to the Elk Grove Village, West Chicago, DeKalb or Princeton facilities until September.
Non-CDL drivers should use the secretary of state’s office at 3720 E. State St. in Rockford.
State officials said the new facility will better accommodate truck and bus drivers because of its closeness to I-39 and I-90. Kaufman said the facility will move into an existing empty building with a newly paved, larger parking lot.
The new facility also will offer driver’s licenses and instruction permits, vision, written and road tests, duplicate licenses, renewals, identification cards, organ and tissue donor registration, voter registration applications, titles and registrations, and vehicle stickers.
The new office will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The land and building are under a 20-year lease.