Airport layout plan goes to FAA

by Carol Henrichs

Despite IDOT’s failure to meet a March 1 deadline imposed last December by State Sen. Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, state transportation officials didn’t miss it by much.

Last December, Halvorson told IDOT officials they had better get the latest version of the airport layout plan for the proposed Peotone airport to the FAA by March 1, “or else.”

Though the threat was directed toward transportation officials, it was meant for Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Halvorson threatened to publicly make her grievances with the governor known if the plan wasn’t submitted.

When the deadline passed, Halvorson reiterated that the plan should be released immediately.

It was sent to the FAA Friday. It is believed that a review of the plan, along with other documents that make up the airport master plan and a final environmental impact study could take two or three years to complete. When completed, the FAA will issue a record of decision that will determine whether or not an airport is built.

The first time a master plan was talked about for a proposed new airport was 1987 at the conclusion of the Chicago Airport Capacity Study. When the report was concluded, state leaders wanted to go on to the master plan phase of the project. Instead, policy makers were overruled. A site selection plan for five potential sites was undertaken. It too was supposed to go on to a master plan phase. At its conclusion, a new airport in a rural location was soundly rejected by policy makers. It wasn’t until 1994 when former Gov. Jim Edgar decided to study Peotone that the process began again.

When state officials couldn’t or wouldn’t reconcile two rival factions that want control over a new airport – Will County and ALNAC (Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission), the airport authority created by U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., the competing airport layout plans reflecting the two were submitted to the FAA last year, but were quickly rejected by the agency which is not designed to solve political conflict. State transportation officials were told to select one preferred plan for federal review.

Since the latest airport layout plan has not yet been released to the public, little is known about it, as of this writing. However, it is believed that the runway has been moved farther south to accommodate some environmental concerns associated with Black Walnut Creek and the existing upgraded general aviation airport, Bult Field.

George Ochsenfeld, president of STAND (Shut This Airport Nightmare Down) said he wants to wait to see the plan, but he believes it will reveal nothing really new.

Ochsenfeld isn’t convinced that submitting a flawed airport layout plan changes a thing with the long-running airport drama. He believes Halvorson is using this issue to further her image as a potential congresswoman.

“It makes her look like a take-charge person and one in command of the issues,” he categorized. “But the reality is that simply forwarding a flawed airport layout plan to the FAA does not show leadership. It shows grandstanding and stalling the inevitable.”

Ochsenfeld believes the state’s plan is flawed and  does not offer a solution to Bult Field, short of buying it.

He believes another airport is not needed, therefore will not be built. And, he said that if Halvorson wanted to really show leadership, she would pull the plug on the airport because a majority of her constituency is against it.

In other airport news, Halvorson has tried to revive legislation to create a shell bill to provide governance for the proposed airport.

Wednesday, March 5, a bill that Halvorson introduced last month, to create the South Suburban Airport Authority Act (SB2063) began moving through committees. That day it went from the State Government and Veterans Affairs Committee to Rules and back to the Executive Committee where it awaits further action.

Similar bills to create the airport authority act have been proposed over the past year or more, but have made little progress.

Ochsenfeld believes it is premature to push for an airport authority since the existence of a new airport remains an uncertainty.