Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey told a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee this week the sequester is having a negative effect on the economy in northern Illinois. Earlier this year, aerial demonstrations were halted nationwide. That caused the cancellation of the city's popular AirFest. Automatic budget cuts next year could have an impact on defense-related purchases. Morrissey fears what that could mean for the region's aerospace industry:
"It may come as a surprise, but there isn't an airplane flying in the skies today, manufactured today, that doesn't connect somehow to the materials, the components, the design, or engineering work that happens in Rockford." - Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey
Rockford's economic development council estimates there are more than 200 aerospace suppliers in the Greater Rockford area, employing more than 6,500 employees.
