ROCHELLE — City of Rochelle Economic Development Director Jason Anderson will retire at the end of 2024 after 20 years in his position. 

Anderson’s 20 years has included working with prospective and current businesses, working with legislators, working on improving infrastructure to attract development, and overseeing the city’s railroad and airport. 

The City of Rochelle has seen over $125 million in infrastructure funding over the past two decades including bridges, railroad, water and sewer in efforts to bring economic growth. Anderson credited that number to Rochelle’s city managers and city council members, the Greater Rochelle Economic Development Corporation (GREDCO) and state organizations. 

Over 2,200 jobs in Rochelle have been created since 2005 and there has been $1.3 billion in capital investment made by businesses in land, buildings and equipment. The city’s equalized assessed value (EAV) in 2004 was $100 million. It is now $325 million. Anderson said 70 percent of that tax base growth is from industrial development. 

“I'm really proud of the effort that all of these people and leaders have been willing to make,” Anderson said. “And it's risky, because you have to build the infrastructure first. The philosophy here in Rochelle is, 'If you build it, they will come.' And that's what's happened. The greatest accomplishment for economic development is that we have really helped to fund the taxing bodies like the schools, park district, library district, the township and city services. The development has boosted the tax base and created jobs.”

Anderson plans to spend more time with family in retirement and will be starting his own business as a consultant to share his years of experience with other communities and entities.

Anderson’s experience prior to working for the city included employment as an analyst for an oil company, time as a salesperson for a family insurance business, being plant manager at Crest Foods in Ashton, and then six years of working for U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald.

“When I was recruited here, I felt it was a calling,” Anderson said. “The experiences in my life up until that point had prepared me for it. It was a perfect training ground, being an analyst, a manufacturer, a liaison in government and a salesman. I was trained to be an economic development director without knowing it. And I brought all of those relationships with me here.”

The most memorable experiences for Anderson over his 20 years include the expansion of the City of Rochelle Railroad, the building of the $6.5 million Steward Road overpass, the building of the Rochelle Business & Technology Park, and helping to bring large-investment projects to town such as Nippon Sharyo, the CHS Ethanol plant, and Wheatland Tube. 

Nippon Sharyo, which Anderson worked on for five years before the company decided to come to town, was a $180 million project and yielded $22 million in infrastructure improvements for the city paid for by other entities. After Nippon Sharyo left the location, Wheatland Tube filled it in the years that followed and made a $130 million investment in the property and buildings. The CHS Ethanol plant, also in that area, was a $180 million project. 

“The work is really dynamic,” Anderson said of economic development. “When you work with the private sector and you're dealing with government too, you have to find a way to get them to want to work together. It takes really good leadership from the government to facilitate projects. 99 percent of economic development work is done behind the scenes. The number-one principle in economic development is confidentiality. Businesses don't want to share what their plans. There's a lot of gratification in getting economic development work done, but there's not much you can talk about until the day comes to cut a ribbon or break ground.”

When Anderson assumed oversight of the city’s railroad 14 years ago, it was making $285,000 a year in revenue. In 2014 it hit the $1 million mark and remains above that mark today. He oversaw the city’s airport for the past 10 years and saw it receive almost $11 million in funding. 

An economic development director overseeing an airport and railroad isn’t common in other communities. Not a lot about Rochelle is common, Anderson said. 

“I've been blessed to be a part of it all,” Anderson said. I came into a city that was all about economic development. My predecessor, Ken Wise, laid the foundation for what needed to be done here and I was just able to be a part of building on it. Rochelle has been blessed for many years with good leadership. There have been people who had the wisdom to start their own utility, become their own internet provider and start their own railroad.”

City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh praised Anderson for the wealth of knowledge and relationships he brings to the city that have helped it to be successful. 

“It's been a blast to work with Jason,” Fiegenschuh said. “He's the most talented and dedicated economic development director I've ever worked with. One of the great things of having consistency in economic development is that those projects don't happen overnight. Some projects take five years. Having consistency in that position makes you able to land those projects. I will miss Jason's expertise and I'll miss him more as an individual and a friend.”

Anderson believes Rochelle’s economic development future is bright. The city has over 1,500 acres of land in its current plan slated for industrial development. Despite economic issues in 2008, the city saw “the biggest boom in industrial growth” from 2008-2012, Anderson said, which he believes was due to being ahead of the curve on infrastructure. The case is the same today with the city completing projects like water wells, work on its water treatment plant, and a new electrical substation and another on the way. 

The longtime city economic development got to see the end results of his work years after endeavoring to bring projects to town.

“My greatest accomplishment and thing that gives me the most satisfaction is getting to know all of the people here,” Anderson said. “I've seen a lot of them grow up. Some have asked me for a reference and a year later I'm touring a local industry and I see them working. They grew up here, got a job here and they're happy and supporting their families. Economic development directors get to be directly involved in creating something that really blesses so many people. You take a lot of satisfaction out of that.”