"Study positive about Peotone"

Thursday, May 23, 2002

Study positive about Peotone 
Airport land buys: Report says deals aren't hurting area
By Jill Jedlowski 
The Joliet (IL) Herald News


  The Peotone area is not being hurt by the state's purchases of land
for a Chicago regional airport there, a federally approved study says.

  The four-volume environmental report, released this week by the
Federal Aviation Administration, says the Will County location is most
ideal of several options studied, including a couple in Kankakee County.

  To date, the Illinois Department of Transportation has spent $6.37
million for 393 acres in the proposed site.

  "Of the two alternatives that meet the proposed action's purpose, the
Will County site has been indicated as the preferred site by a variety
of state and federal agencies on the basis of greater concerns regarding
potential future cumulative impacts to water quality, wetlands (and)
floodplains," the report states.

  Having signs point to Will County is a positive step, according to
U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller's camp.

  Weller, R-Morris, has been pushing for legislative parity between the
Peotone project and any expansion at Chicago's O'Hare International
Airport.

  "(The summary) clearly states that Will County is the right site for
what we need to expand capacity," said Ben Fallon, Weller's spokesman.

  And the fact that Gary, Ind., was ruled out early in the study helps
Peotone's cause, too. Many of the south suburban airport's naysayers
look to Gary as the solution, saying it's nearby and underused.

  "This shoots that theory down," Fallon said.

  Those who don't want Peotone don't mind an expanded O'Hare, because
enlarging the already-huge hub will surely be the kiss of death for an
airport around here, said George Ochsenfeld, president of the group Shut
This Airport Nightmare Down.

  The FAA's proposed site approval is based on the continuing need to
protect airspace and a technically feasible site from suburban sprawl.
In other words, there needs to be a plan for the projected increased
aviation needs before the population takes over and there's no room left
for a solution.

  But Chicagoland is behind the curve in aircraft operations figures,
the FAA said. Our area grew annually between 1990-99 at .2 percent,
slower than the national average of .9 percent. The FAA predicts more
significant increases from this point on through 2015, indicating a 1.6
percent yearly jump.

  Two similar forecasts were conducted - with the city of Chicago
aircraft operation's prediction more conservative, and the state
predicting twice the jump as what the FAA forecasts.

  But to some, there are much more staggering numbers.

  For the ultimate 24,000-acre Peotone site, 16 businesses and 129 farm
operations would need to be acquired by the state. Nearly 3,000 people
would be relocated from about 1,232 residences.

  The Kankakee option would displace fewer business and move far fewer
people.

  Not to mention that both would have some kind of "unavoidable" adverse
affect on the surrounding community, the study notes. So some
environmental or nature agencies have adopted the strategy of throwing
their support behind the least invasive option, which some say is
Peotone.

  Another, larger federal study addressing the construction and need of
another airport is set to come out in a couple of years.

  That will be the telltale part, Ochsenfeld said.

  "The second one will be the important one," he said. "They haven't
proven the need yet."


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