Lawmakers Seek Relief For Homes Plagued By Increased O'Hare Noise
CHICAGO (CBS) -- While Democrats and Republicans in the Illinois General Assembly haven't been able to find much common ground lately, those who represent people around O'Hare International Airport have banded together to try to bring some relief from increased jet noise.
State representatives and senators from both sides of the aisle said they hear constant complaints from their constituents, and something has to be done.
"My constituents have described how the ear-splitting noise disrupts their sleep, their television shows, and even their use of their back yards," Rep. Christine Winger (R-Wood Dale) said.
She and three other lawmakers announced a new effort in Springfield to bring some relief, including making more homeowners near O'Hare eligible for soundproofing tax credits, calling for new studies of air and noise pollution, and forcing airlines to adhere to the voluntary Fly Quiet Program – designed to limit jet noise at night.
Sen. John Mulroe (D-Chicago) said there's only so much lawmakers can do to reduce jet noise near O'Hare, so they need to put more pressure on Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the FAA to address homeowners' concerns.
"We're not going away. The noise is not going away. We'll keep the pressure on the city and the FAA to do what's right for the people we represent, so they can sleep at night, so they can use their back yards. There's an obligation to be good neighbors," he said.
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Sen. Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) said the city and the FAA must be part of the solution to the problem of increased jet noise and changes in noise patterns that have resulted from ongoing expansion of O'Hare.
"We'd like to send a message to Mayor Emanuel, and to the FAA, that while we understand the importance and the significance of O'Hare Airport, they need to take into greater consideration the impact that their decisions have on the lives of families in the area," she said.
Mulroe said the O'Hare Modernization Program might seem like an unstoppable steamroller, but something has to be done about the spike in jet noise for some homes near O'Hare after a new runway opened in 2013, and significantly changed flight patterns.
"It's a big problem for us, and that steamroller may be coming through, but we're going to try to slow it down, at least," he said.
Winger said their constituents are discouraged that the city and the Federal Aviation Administration seem uninterested in doing anything about the problem.
"Their daily lives are in the hands of these two entities whose mission does not include protecting health and quality of life," she said.
Winger has estimated hundreds of homes outside the existing "noise contour" at O'Hare would qualify for soundproofing tax credits under one of a handful of proposals recently introduced to the General Assembly.
Only homes within the official noise contour can obtain free sound insulation, but the contour map has not been revised since the first new runway opened at O'Hare in 2008, even though another new runway opened in 2013, sending hundreds of planes over homes that had few planes flying overhead before.
The contour map isn't scheduled to be revised again until the airport expansion is completed in 2020, and subsidized soundproofing for homes that fall under the new contours wouldn't be available until 2025.
