As a result of action at last spring's annual town meeting April 14, Crete Township voters will have a chance to weigh in on the Peotone Airport.

An advisory question will be on the ballot in Crete Township's general primary election February 2, 2010, to ask residents if they support building the Peotone Airport.

Angelo Juarez, who has lived in rural Crete since 1971, requested that the question be brought to voters.

An advisory referendum is "the only tool residents of the unincorporated area have to make their wishes known," he explained recently.

"Since nobody asks us what we want, I got tired of being pushed around," Juarez said. "I asked for the referendum." And he wasn't alone since the response by the electorate present who were eligible to vote was unanimous.

Juarez said he has been opposed to the airport since 1968 when he first bought the land upon which he built his home. 

He makes no predictions, but hopes voters show their opposition to the airport.

"I don't want the airport here. It will trash our lifestyle," he said.

He remarked that at that time he built his house, it was surrounded by farms. He categorized that as very different from what he believes the politicians and decision-makers envision for the area today. He was critical of Crete's land use plan that includes the area where he lives – an entire section of Crete Township – to be all commercial and industrial use.

Airport, Intermodal, Illiana Expressway

A year earlier, Juarez requested that the effort to build Crete's proposed Intermodal yard be placed on the ballot. The result was that 57 percent of the voters in the township voted against it.

At the time Juarez said, "It is obvious that the village of Crete did not follow the will of the people."

Just after the vote, Crete Mayor Mike Einhorn, the biggest promoter of the intermodal facility was undaunted by the 3,000 votes against the project. There is no reason to believe an airport referendum would solicit a different response.

Still, Juarez believes that people should have their say. And when decisions are made, the peoples' wishes should be taken into account.

But, it isn't the airport that is Juarez's biggest concern. The airport has languished on the back burner of doable projects for years. The intermodal is a relatively newly proposed project.

"I am convinced that the airport is somehow linked with the intermodal," Juarez said. He also categorized the Illiana Expressway similarly.

"I only wish that the other three townships that surround the airport would have put the issue to a vote as well." he said.

Juarez said he was unaware or didn't recall that a previous referendum was held on the airport.

Past referendum

In November, 1990, ten out of 11 townships in Will and Kankakee counties voted against building a new airport. There were 12 townships polled. Crete Township was not included among them.

The only township of the dozen polled that supported the airport was Monee Township.

But that turned around in a survey in 1993 of Monee Township residents. Monee officials also failed to act upon the wishes of township residents. Despite being instructed at an annual town meeting to pass a resolution opposing the airport as indicated by the survey, no action was ever taken.

The survey indicated that in University Park, 44 percent of the residents said they preferred to live at least an hour away from an airport. In the unincorporated areas, that number swelled to 62 percent. Only 7 percent wanted an airport within 10 minutes of where they lived. Christine Cochrane was the township supervisor at the time. She later went on to become IDOT's project manager for the third airport.

George Ochsenfeld, president of STAND (Shut This Airport Nightmare Down) said he would like to see the people of Crete Township speak their opposition loudly, though he puts little stock in their desires being carried out.

"I've seen how little regard airport boosters like Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. have for peoples' opinion on this matter," he said.

While Ochsenfeld is all for the people speaking through a referendum, he feels that this one isn't necessary.

"The people have made it abundantly clear during the past 20 years that an airport isn't wanted or needed," he said.