"County studies plan to 'cosponsor' Peotone airport"

Friday, June 13, 2003

Will County studies plan to 'cosponsor' Peotone airport
By Marni Pyke
The Chicago (IL) Daily Herald


Twenty years from now, Naperville residents may be watching the skies for
planes headed south toward their airport.

Will County's Peotone Airport, that is.

County board members Thursday heard an update from consultant James "Skip"
Spensley about a plan he's preparing in case the region's third airport
becomes a reality.

The state is buying land in the farming community of Peotone for the
proposed 23,000-acre, $600 million airport, which is touted as a solution to
O'Hare congestion.

In his report, Spensley talked about the possibility of the county running
the airport.

"We should pursue co-sponsoring the airport with the Illinois Department of
Transportation," he said during an executive committee meeting. "We should
prepare a financial plan and a marketing plan."

Asked who he thought would decide who runs the airport, Spensley said he
believed IDOT officials would.

Board member Mary Ann Gearhart-Deutsche, a Steger Republican, said
Spensley's report didn't take into account residents living near the airport
and potential costs.

"What impact will this have on county funds?" she said. "What will be
diverted to this?"

Committee Chairman James Moustis, a Frankfort Republican, said the county
needs to be a force in the airport's planning.

"It's in the best interests of Will County to put resources into the
airport," he said.

He was backed by board member Susan Riley, a Naperville Republican.

"I really think we should learn from past mistakes," she said, citing the
case of Harrah's Casino in Joliet. In that case, the county was supposed to
help with the casino's planning and receive $1 per person in taxes, but the
deal was never formalized, Riley said.

"This (airport) could generate a lot of revenue. We need to be at the
table," she said.

The county board voted in November to pay Spensley $150,000 to develop the
action plan. That fee was covered by a government grant.

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