The days of this being free at the Rockford airport are going away very soon.

I've flown out of RFD many times and I always smile at some point driving to the airport knowing that after being out of town for a week, I won't have to pay a hundred dollars or more for parking. While parking at RFD won't cost as much as it does at O'hare, it's not going to be free anymore.

Starting this Fall, the airport will start charging you to park. According to wrex.com, it will now cost you $7 a day, $35 a week. For a shorter visit, parking will still be free for the first two hours, after that it will cost $1 per hour.

Airport officials say the charge is needed to pay for airport improvements.

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