"Durbin: Inaction may derail airport plans near Peotone"

Monday, October 22, 2007

Durbin: Inaction may derail airport plans near Peotone
By Guy Tridgell
The Chicago (IL) Daily Southtown


Will County and towns south of Chicago can wave goodbye to a new airport
near Peotone if the state's political leaders can't make progress on the
stalled project, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said.

In a letter to Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the state's legislative leaders,
Durbin, D-Ill., said the Illinois Department of Transportation's inaction
has put the airport in jeopardy.

Durbin said IDOT needs to finish a layout plan for the airfield. And the
governor and the General Assembly must pick a governing body to oversee the
airport by resolving a stalemate between Will County and U.S. Rep. Jesse
Jackson Jr., D-Chicago, Durbin said.

"I will continue to work to advance development of the south suburban
airport, but to move this project forward, we need a strong commitment from
the state and consensus from local communities," Durbin wrote.

Durbin said he sent the letter after the Federal Aviation Administration
expressed frustration about the viability and future of the proposed
airport. The state, he said, is not moving fast enough for the FAA.

In February, the FAA rejected IDOT's attempts to submit two layout plans -
one backed by Jackson, the other supported by Will County. Since then, IDOT
has ignored the FAA's insistence it submit only one plan showing where the
terminal and runway will be located.

But IDOT and the governor's office said the complaints are news to them.

"We have been working with the FAA's regional staff on an almost-daily
basis," IDOT spokesman Mike Claffey said.

But airport supporters for months have griped about what they view as the
state's waning interest in the airport and reluctance to condemn the land
needed for a roughly $400 million single-runway airport with room for six
gates. The state owns about 1,940 acres, half of the airport's footprint.

Durbin's letter indicates he thinks it's time for the state to end the
squabbling about who should operate the airport. Since 2003, Jackson and
Will County have bickered about the rights to become a partner with IDOT on
the project - a fight Blagojevich has refused to get involved in.

Jackson wants an airport run by private developers and his Abraham Lincoln
National Airport Commission - a coalition of south suburbs with the
financial backing of a few northwest suburbs fighting the O'Hare
International Airport expansion. Will County favors a state-created airport
authority board, with most of its members being county residents.

Durbin said he prefers an airport managed by "a majority of local residents
who live in the county in which the airport is located."

When the state does complete an airport master plan, FAA approval will take
at least two years.

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