Amerifile Tax Center closed its lobby due to the outbreak, but found a new use for its old drive-thru window

MOLINE, Illinois — The coronavirus outbreak is changing how tax preparation companies operate this tax season.

In-person consultation isn't possible anymore, but with many taxpayers looking forward to a stimulus check from the government, there are more questions than ever.

"We've been around forever, we've been in this building for 20-some years," said AmeriFile Tax Center President James Fromi. "People still drive up to the drive-thru window, knocking on it, showing us their electric bill."

That's because older people remember it as the Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Company. For years the drive-thru window was boarded up and unused, until social distancing measures forced Fromi to close the lobby in the downtown Moline office and do some creative thinking.