City Council Panel Grounds Measure To Halt O'Hare Expansion
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A City Council committee has voted down an ordinance that would have stopped the expansion of O'Hare International Airport in its tracks, and given aldermen the final say over any runway changes the airport.
Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) was the sponsor of the ordinance, which would have essentially halted the massive O'Hare Modernization Program, by stopping all ongoing and future work on building, reconfiguring, or closing runways and taxiways, and requiring the city's Aviation Commissioner to seek City Council approval for all such work.
It also would have required the city to reopen a diagonal runway, 14L/32R, which was closed last year as part of the ongoing reconfiguration and expansion of O'Hare's airfield. Another diagonal runway, 14R/32L scheduled to close in 2019 also would have been required to stay open.
Napolitano argued that, since the City Council must approve the installation of new stop signs on city streets, aldermen also should have oversight of new runways at O'Hare.
"If somebody wants to put a stop sign in the city, you go to the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, and you fill out the paperwork, and then it's voted here. We don't do that for runways, so we don't have that effect on how O'Hare affects our wards," he said.
He wanted a diagonal runway that closed last year to reopen immediately, to help bring some noise relief to residents in his ward, and other areas that have seen a massive spike in jet noise since a new runway opened in October 2013. That new runway sent hundreds of planes over neighborhoods and suburbs that had little air traffic overhead before.
Napolitano said runways are being taken in and out of service without regard for how the noise would impact people who live around the airport.
The alderman said, ultimately, he wants his ward to get some relief from the incessant jet noise. He said the constant drone of airplanes could eventually force people to move out.
"What scares me, commissioner, is that when you destroy those diagonal runways, that I just have to tell people 'Get used to it,' and that's what scares me, and that's what scares our ward," he said.
One woman who testified at Thursday's Aviation Committee meeting said the only time she can hear birds chirping outside her window is when the diagonal runways are being used.
The Fair Allocation in Runways Coalition also has asked the city to reopen the diagonal runway, to more evenly distribute planes flying over the areas around O'Hare, but the city has said runways 14L/32R and 14R/32L will be closed permanently as part of the expansion of O'Hare, in favor of more east-west runways.
Napolitano's proposal faced stiff opposition from labor unions, tourist groups, and the city's Law Department, which said the Federal Aviation Administration and state laws have precedent over runway usage at O'Hare.
After a three-hour hearing, the Aviation Committee voted 10-1 against Napolitano's proposal.
Given the potential impact of the proposed ordinance, the committee meeting drew a packed house to the City Hall hearing room where it was held. Within a few minutes of the start of the meeting, city officials barred any more people from attending for the rest of the three-hour hearing, including two TV crews and a newspaper reporter who showed up to cover it, even though the room has a designated media area. Several people who said they had signed up to speak at the hearing said they also were turned away, told there was no more room for anyone inside.
Committee meetings that draw that much interest are often moved to the City Council chamber, which has much more space than the hearing room in back, although another committee meeting was scheduled for the same time Thursday.