"Feasibility Study Under Way on Proposed Peotone, Ill., Private-Public Airport"

Friday, August 8, 2003

Feasibility Study Under Way on Proposed Peotone, Ill., Private-Public
Airport
The Chicago (IL) Tribune


The state has nearly doubled its land holdings this year for the proposed
Peotone-area airport, with 1,522 acres acquired, up from 820 acres at the
end of 2002.

But that is only slightly more than a third of the 4,200 acres needed to
build a terminal and one runway, the first stage of the airport, and far
less than the 24,000 acres thought to be needed if a third major regional
airport were to be built in Will County.

Planning for the airport continues, with numerous officials, particularly
those who oppose expansion of O'Hare International Airport, expressing
optimism about the Peotone airport's viability.

Elk Grove Village, Park Ridge and Bensenville, suburbs that border O'Hare,
have financed a study that is seeking to determine whether a major airport
in the Peotone area could be built and operated by private developers in a
private-public partnership rather than by a government agency.

The study envisions that a private developer would design an airport,
arrange financing, lease the land from the state and then build and operate
the airport. Such a scenario would also include creation of an airport
authority that would own the airport.

The three villages hired Infrastructure Management Group of Bethesda, Md.,
to coordinate the planning and two real estate development firms,
SNC-Lavalin Group of Canada and LCOR of Berwyn, Pa., to conduct the study
and potentially act as developers.

Their report is expected to be completed shortly.

"We have not seen any report, but we're hearing that everything looks good,"
said Craig Johnson, mayor of Elk Grove Village and a vocal foe of O'Hare
expansion.

"We have always expected completion of the study by the end of this summer
and, for me, the summer ends on Labor Day," Johnson said.

Even if the developers find the project is financially workable, they may
encounter obstacles from the state because of their connection to northwest
suburban forces that oppose expansion of O'Hare. The expansion was locked
into state law in a bill Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed Wednesday. The governor
has voiced support for Peotone, but he has said it is not needed now. .

"Certainly we're not encouraging this study. The state would have
reservations about working with anyone who opposes our total airport plan,"
said Matt Vanover, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation.

If, as expected, the study concludes that the private sector could lead the
airport development process, then the three suburbs would encourage
communities in the south suburbs to promote the private development concept,
Johnson said.

The south suburbs have not shared the cost of the study, but the concept is
considered workable by some leaders.

"Their private-public partnership is one way of funding an airport,
absolutely," said Will County executive Joseph Mikan. "Traditional public
funding is another way that this might be built."

He said site planning and environmental impact studies on the Peotone site
will be finished by the state within 2 years.

Steve Steckler, chief executive of Infrastructure Management Group, said he
expects the study to be thorough and objective because the issue is whether
SNC-Lavalin Group and LCOR could be the developers who would make an equity
investment in the project, thereby putting their own assets at risk if the
plan did not succeed.


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