Special South Suburban Newsletter Edition

Elk Grove Village supports a third regional airport to serve northeastern Illinois. Studies indicate that:

• The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago have known for over 15 years that a 3rd regional airport must be constructed to serve the air capacity needs of the region. The Illinois Department of Transportation has been seeking to construct a 3rd airport near Peotone for many years now. Mayor Daley attempted to have a 3rd airport constructed on a brownfield site in the City over 10 years ago. This was the Lake Calumet Airport.
• Roadways leading into and out of O'Hare Airport are at their peak capacity. Adding more runways or reconfiguring runways does not address the roadway capacity issue. We will not only experience airport gridlock, but severe traffic gridlock also.
• Since the FAA lifted flight restrictions at O'Hare, delays have increased dramatically. We warned the FAA that this would occur. It was obvious since O'Hare was already operating at peak capacity..
• Elk Grove's tax base will grow robustly even with a south suburban airport. The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) projects a 15.5% job growth in Elk Grove by the year 2020 with a south suburban airport.
• The State of Illinois will reap benefits from a 3rd airport as capacity at O'Hare and Midway is relieved. O'Hare expansion is not the answer to address 2020 air capacity growth. The development of the third airport would be phased to guarantee a vital O'Hare and Midway. It would function as part of an airport system that evolves around a vital O'Hare.
• Failure to construct a 3rd airport in Illinois will result in Illinois taxpayers losing economic and financial opportunity. Jobs and economic development are sorely needed in south suburban Cook County. Currently, residents and businesses in north and northwestern Cook County pay a disproportionate share of County taxes to fund services for all of Cook County A third airport will create an additional economic engine, boost the development of the south suburbs, and create tax relief for north and northwest Cook County.
• Air travelers will financially benefit from the increased competition in the form of lower fees.
• O'Hare will remain a highly viable airport even with the construction of a third regional airport.
• University -of Illinois economics professor Robert Resek recently completed a study for the University of Illinois regarding Chicago air traffic. With respect to a third airport in northeastern Illinois, Resek is quoted as follows: "You are going to have to build another airport" and "If it's built, the airlines will use it".
• South and southwest suburban residents will have much more convenient access to air travel and increased job growth. There are 2.4 million people living within the area. South suburban areas such as Naperville, Aurora, Joliet, and Tinley Park are among the fastest growing suburbs in the State of Illinois.
• By 2020, NIPC projects that the six-county Chicago area will grow by 1.5 million people (equivalent to adding 5 Will Counties) and 1.2 million jobs. The projected population and employers need to be serviced by a viable air and road transportation network. A new airport in the south suburban area is the location that will accommodate Illinois growth and demand.
• According to NIPC data, of the total number of building permits issued in 2000,24% of all permits issued in the 6 county Chicago area were issued in Will County (6,548 out of 27,022 total number of buildings).
• The City of Chicago has blocked the development of a 3rd regional airport, Had this airport been developed, we would not be experiencing the delays we face today Our community should not be punished for Chicago's short-sighted, obstructionist plans.