Meigs Field in Chicago closed
jetsy
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Latest in the saga:
As suspected, the “legal wrangling” stopped the further destruction of the airport. Today the moron came on tv and said he still wants Meigs gone, but will keep the tower "functioning" to monitor the lakefront airspace... Figure this one out.
Can't wait to hear what the FAA will have to say.
And this from Chicago Business:
"Minus Meigs, biz will suffer: poll"
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=8436
As suspected, the “legal wrangling” stopped the further destruction of the airport. Today the moron came on tv and said he still wants Meigs gone, but will keep the tower "functioning" to monitor the lakefront airspace... Figure this one out.
Can't wait to hear what the FAA will have to say.
And this from Chicago Business:
"Minus Meigs, biz will suffer: poll"
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=8436
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Meigs clings to life
Will this action be successful???
________________________________________
Judge to city: Preserve Meigs, for now
Advertisement
By John McCormick
Tribune staff reporter
April 4, 2003, 3:31 PM CST
A Cook County judge this afternoon issued a temporary restraining order barring the city from doing any more demolition work at Meigs Field.
Judge William Maki ordered the city to preserve the taxiway, terminal building and other components that make up the lakefront airport, and set a May 16 hearing date on a preliminary injunction, sought by the Friends of Meigs, against further demolition at the 55-year-old airfield.
Michael Forti, deputy corporation counsel for Chicago, said the city likely would be back in court in the near future to file a motion to dismiss the pilots' suit.
Separately, a national organization of pilots called for an economic boycott of Chicago and a freeze on federal funding for O'Hare International and Midway Airports until Meigs reopens.
Caught by surprise by Mayor Richard Daley's overnight move Sunday and early Monday to have heavy construction equipment carve Xs into Meigs' runway, the pilots' group filed a lawsuit this morning, accusing the city of acting illegally. The plaintiffs' goal is to force the city into reopening the airport.
Rachel Goodstein, president of Friends of Meigs, said the city's actions were "not only outrageous and shocking to all Chicagoans, they were also illegal."
Speaking at a Daley Center news conference this morning, Steve Whitney, a past president of Friends of Meigs, said the loss of the airport hurts more than just small-plane owners.
"It's a huge economic asset to the city," he said. "It relieves congestion at the other airports. It's a public safety asset in terms of medivac flights and air traffic control."
Other plaintiffs include individual taxpayers, medical transport professionals, air traffic controllers and volunteers in the Young Eagles aviation education program for children, pilots said.
Daley has defended Meigs' closing as necessary to protect the public against possible terrorist attacks by small airplanes. The suit, however, contends the closing itself threatens public safety by hampering air traffic, critical care for medical patients and disaster planning for bio-terrorist attacks.
As an example of Meigs' safety role, the pilots played an audiotape of radio transmissions Wednesday between Meigs' tower controller and two aircraft that the pilots said averted a mid-air collision in the downtown area. The tower is to be closed with the airport.
The pilots also cited a December 2001 deal between Daley and then-Gov. George Ryan. In exchange for Ryan's support for federal legislation authorizing the expansion of O'Hare International Airport, Daley agreed to keep Meigs open until at least 2006, and for up to 24 years unless the Illinois General Assembly decreed otherwise.
The legislation never passed, and Daley has indicated he no longer feels bound by the deal.
Separately, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is calling on its 400,000 members to boycott Chicago for business meetings and conventions.
The organization said it is filing a formal complaint with the FAA, accusing the city of violating federal regulations requiring at least a 30-day notice before closing an airport, and demanding that federal funds be frozen for O'Hare and Midway until Meigs reopens.
The organization also said it is filing a complaint with the Illinois Department of Transportation, accusing the city of violating state regulations requiring approval for alternations to an existing airport.
Karen Levine, a lawyer representing Friends of Meigs, said the suit accuses the city of violating state law by making alterations to an airport runway without getting IDOT's approval. "As a result, they've taken away a public use, and they've also acted without authority," Levine said.
Earlier this week, though, an IDOT spokesman said the law only dealt with changes to runways that would affect safety at an operating airport and was not intended to force unwilling airport operators to continue operating.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
________________________________________
Judge to city: Preserve Meigs, for now
Advertisement
By John McCormick
Tribune staff reporter
April 4, 2003, 3:31 PM CST
A Cook County judge this afternoon issued a temporary restraining order barring the city from doing any more demolition work at Meigs Field.
Judge William Maki ordered the city to preserve the taxiway, terminal building and other components that make up the lakefront airport, and set a May 16 hearing date on a preliminary injunction, sought by the Friends of Meigs, against further demolition at the 55-year-old airfield.
Michael Forti, deputy corporation counsel for Chicago, said the city likely would be back in court in the near future to file a motion to dismiss the pilots' suit.
Separately, a national organization of pilots called for an economic boycott of Chicago and a freeze on federal funding for O'Hare International and Midway Airports until Meigs reopens.
Caught by surprise by Mayor Richard Daley's overnight move Sunday and early Monday to have heavy construction equipment carve Xs into Meigs' runway, the pilots' group filed a lawsuit this morning, accusing the city of acting illegally. The plaintiffs' goal is to force the city into reopening the airport.
Rachel Goodstein, president of Friends of Meigs, said the city's actions were "not only outrageous and shocking to all Chicagoans, they were also illegal."
Speaking at a Daley Center news conference this morning, Steve Whitney, a past president of Friends of Meigs, said the loss of the airport hurts more than just small-plane owners.
"It's a huge economic asset to the city," he said. "It relieves congestion at the other airports. It's a public safety asset in terms of medivac flights and air traffic control."
Other plaintiffs include individual taxpayers, medical transport professionals, air traffic controllers and volunteers in the Young Eagles aviation education program for children, pilots said.
Daley has defended Meigs' closing as necessary to protect the public against possible terrorist attacks by small airplanes. The suit, however, contends the closing itself threatens public safety by hampering air traffic, critical care for medical patients and disaster planning for bio-terrorist attacks.
As an example of Meigs' safety role, the pilots played an audiotape of radio transmissions Wednesday between Meigs' tower controller and two aircraft that the pilots said averted a mid-air collision in the downtown area. The tower is to be closed with the airport.
The pilots also cited a December 2001 deal between Daley and then-Gov. George Ryan. In exchange for Ryan's support for federal legislation authorizing the expansion of O'Hare International Airport, Daley agreed to keep Meigs open until at least 2006, and for up to 24 years unless the Illinois General Assembly decreed otherwise.
The legislation never passed, and Daley has indicated he no longer feels bound by the deal.
Separately, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is calling on its 400,000 members to boycott Chicago for business meetings and conventions.
The organization said it is filing a formal complaint with the FAA, accusing the city of violating federal regulations requiring at least a 30-day notice before closing an airport, and demanding that federal funds be frozen for O'Hare and Midway until Meigs reopens.
The organization also said it is filing a complaint with the Illinois Department of Transportation, accusing the city of violating state regulations requiring approval for alternations to an existing airport.
Karen Levine, a lawyer representing Friends of Meigs, said the suit accuses the city of violating state law by making alterations to an airport runway without getting IDOT's approval. "As a result, they've taken away a public use, and they've also acted without authority," Levine said.
Earlier this week, though, an IDOT spokesman said the law only dealt with changes to runways that would affect safety at an operating airport and was not intended to force unwilling airport operators to continue operating.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
I just hope that silly mayor gets what he deserves, a royal kick in the behind.
How can any sane society tolerate such outrageously totalitarian behaviour?
If there was any justice, Daley would be adjudged as 'not fit to hold public office', booted out of his position and be required to restore the airport at his own expense. But no, there'll be some overpaid smart-ass lawyer who'll get him off the hook......
Good luck to the AOPA campaign!
If there was any justice, Daley would be adjudged as 'not fit to hold public office', booted out of his position and be required to restore the airport at his own expense. But no, there'll be some overpaid smart-ass lawyer who'll get him off the hook......
Good luck to the AOPA campaign!
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Patch for FS2002 now available at flightsim.com 
Hope this idiot is removed from office ( by bulldozer preferably )
Hope current action brings Meigs back too , looks awful on the webcam - deep gouges and concrete piled high.unbelievable.
Hope this idiot is removed from office ( by bulldozer preferably )
Hope current action brings Meigs back too , looks awful on the webcam - deep gouges and concrete piled high.unbelievable.
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Even Tom Ridge is puzzled!!!
________________________________
Ridge `disappointed' at Daley's closing of Meigs Field
By Frank James, Washington Bureau. Tribune staff reporter John McCormick in Chicago contributed to this report
April 9, 2003
WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Tuesday took issue with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's decision to close Meigs Field, saying he regretted the move and suggesting that the mayor's action stemmed from concerns that predated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.
In a meeting with reporters, Ridge refused to be drawn into the issue of whether the closing constituted a security issue for the city, but he pointedly added that he always enjoyed flying into the airport.
"I'm disappointed they closed it," Ridge said of the decision, which Daley has portrayed as intended to increase security for Chicago's downtown against suicide attacks by terrorists in small aircraft.
"As [Pennsylvania] governor I occasionally used it. It's a beautiful short runway along the lake," Ridge added.
The mayor's office declined to comment on Ridge's statements, saying only that Daley maintains the closing of Meigs was necessary to protect downtown residents and workers from attack.
But Ridge acknowledged the mayor's action, which took place in the middle of the night, underscores the challenges his new department faces in crafting a coherent national security strategy along with municipal governments.
Asked repeatedly if the people of Chicago were safer because of the Meigs' closure, Ridge never said yes. "From the mayor's point of view, they are," he finally said.
Though Ridge clearly didn't want to openly question Daley's motives, he said he was aware the mayor had long wanted Meigs shut. The mayor has said in the past he wanted to turn the airport into a lakefront park.
"That decision to close that field, that impetus was prior to 9/11, at least to my recollection, they were planning on closing that thing even before Sept. 11," Ridge said.
"Right now," Ridge said, "I am certainly not in a position to say to a mayor of one of the largest, greatest cities in the world, your assessment in regard to a threat [that] general aviation had to your city, because of the proximity to the airport, is inaccurate and we can overrule you. We certainly are not there."
Daley's action, something Ridge, the nation's top domestic-security official, never sought and was sorry to learn of, underscored a problem Ridge has encountered in his first few weeks as secretary.
"You can't tell mayors what to do," said Ridge, whose department opened officially last month. "We don't have the authority to do that. That's the challenge in trying to develop a national homeland security strategy" at the federal level.
The problem is reminiscent of what Ridge faced before his job was elevated to a Cabinet position, when he had been homeland security director with an office in the White House.
Because the office lacked Cabinet status, experts said he didn't wield enough power to force other federal officials to follow his strategy.
Ridge's power limited
But moves by Daley as well as other local and state officials show that even as a Cabinet secretary, Ridge's power on the local and state level is limited.
Asked if the mayor told him beforehand that the city was going to close the airport, Ridge said: "No."
Another homeland security official said department officials received notice about the airport's closing just five minutes before the mayor made his public announcement.
Advocates for Meigs Field have called the mayor's security arguments bogus ever since he announced the closing of the 55-year-old airstrip.
"Meigs Field presents no more threat to homeland security than any airport of its type," said Steve Whitney, a leader for Friends of Meigs Field. "It's also a huge asset for countering threats."
Whitney said the flight time difference between Meigs and Midway Airport is only a matter of minutes, so any terrorist targeting downtown could just as easily use the Southwest Side airport.
Whitney said small planes will continue to fly near downtown because the lakefront is a popular flight zone for pilots.
He said Chicago also is less prepared for a disaster with Meigs closed.
The sense that Ridge didn't share Daley's stated concerns about Meigs was reinforced when the secretary indicated he wasn't afraid to ask mayors to close certain facilities or locations when he thought it imperative.
Ridge, for instance, recently asked his friend, Philadelphia Mayor John Street, to keep closed a street adjacent to Independence Hall, a major tourist attraction and the site where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. The national park also contains the Liberty Bell.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton asked Ridge to call Street because her department feared the casualties and damage a vehicle bomb could do.
"The mayor said no," Ridge recounted, noting that Street cited possible disruption to the community and traffic issues. Still, Ridge said his agency will look for other ways to protect the area.
In the meeting with reporters, Ridge also said his department would directly provide nearly $100 million to seven cities to cover security improvements.
Chicago would receive nearly $11 million as part of a federal urban area security initiative.
The money was in response to recent complaints by mayors that the high terrorist threat level the department put in place at the start of the Iraq war has cost them millions in additional dollars.
What's more, mayors have blamed the federal government's practice of sending money first to the states to then distribute to cities as unnecessarily delaying when the money reached localities.
Distribution of funds
New York will receive the most, about $25 million, followed by Washington at $18 million. Los Angeles will receive about $12 million. San Francisco and Seattle will get about $11 million each, and Houston nearly $9 million.
Cities were chosen based on a combination of factors, including population density, critical infrastructure and assessments of their vulnerability to attack, administration officials said.
"There are a lot of potentially deserving communities," Ridge said.
"But we could spread this money around so that everybody got a little bit and none of it would make a difference. ... We wanted to make sure that significant dollars were distributed so that significant investments could be made."
Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune
________________________________
Ridge `disappointed' at Daley's closing of Meigs Field
By Frank James, Washington Bureau. Tribune staff reporter John McCormick in Chicago contributed to this report
April 9, 2003
WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Tuesday took issue with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's decision to close Meigs Field, saying he regretted the move and suggesting that the mayor's action stemmed from concerns that predated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.
In a meeting with reporters, Ridge refused to be drawn into the issue of whether the closing constituted a security issue for the city, but he pointedly added that he always enjoyed flying into the airport.
"I'm disappointed they closed it," Ridge said of the decision, which Daley has portrayed as intended to increase security for Chicago's downtown against suicide attacks by terrorists in small aircraft.
"As [Pennsylvania] governor I occasionally used it. It's a beautiful short runway along the lake," Ridge added.
The mayor's office declined to comment on Ridge's statements, saying only that Daley maintains the closing of Meigs was necessary to protect downtown residents and workers from attack.
But Ridge acknowledged the mayor's action, which took place in the middle of the night, underscores the challenges his new department faces in crafting a coherent national security strategy along with municipal governments.
Asked repeatedly if the people of Chicago were safer because of the Meigs' closure, Ridge never said yes. "From the mayor's point of view, they are," he finally said.
Though Ridge clearly didn't want to openly question Daley's motives, he said he was aware the mayor had long wanted Meigs shut. The mayor has said in the past he wanted to turn the airport into a lakefront park.
"That decision to close that field, that impetus was prior to 9/11, at least to my recollection, they were planning on closing that thing even before Sept. 11," Ridge said.
"Right now," Ridge said, "I am certainly not in a position to say to a mayor of one of the largest, greatest cities in the world, your assessment in regard to a threat [that] general aviation had to your city, because of the proximity to the airport, is inaccurate and we can overrule you. We certainly are not there."
Daley's action, something Ridge, the nation's top domestic-security official, never sought and was sorry to learn of, underscored a problem Ridge has encountered in his first few weeks as secretary.
"You can't tell mayors what to do," said Ridge, whose department opened officially last month. "We don't have the authority to do that. That's the challenge in trying to develop a national homeland security strategy" at the federal level.
The problem is reminiscent of what Ridge faced before his job was elevated to a Cabinet position, when he had been homeland security director with an office in the White House.
Because the office lacked Cabinet status, experts said he didn't wield enough power to force other federal officials to follow his strategy.
Ridge's power limited
But moves by Daley as well as other local and state officials show that even as a Cabinet secretary, Ridge's power on the local and state level is limited.
Asked if the mayor told him beforehand that the city was going to close the airport, Ridge said: "No."
Another homeland security official said department officials received notice about the airport's closing just five minutes before the mayor made his public announcement.
Advocates for Meigs Field have called the mayor's security arguments bogus ever since he announced the closing of the 55-year-old airstrip.
"Meigs Field presents no more threat to homeland security than any airport of its type," said Steve Whitney, a leader for Friends of Meigs Field. "It's also a huge asset for countering threats."
Whitney said the flight time difference between Meigs and Midway Airport is only a matter of minutes, so any terrorist targeting downtown could just as easily use the Southwest Side airport.
Whitney said small planes will continue to fly near downtown because the lakefront is a popular flight zone for pilots.
He said Chicago also is less prepared for a disaster with Meigs closed.
The sense that Ridge didn't share Daley's stated concerns about Meigs was reinforced when the secretary indicated he wasn't afraid to ask mayors to close certain facilities or locations when he thought it imperative.
Ridge, for instance, recently asked his friend, Philadelphia Mayor John Street, to keep closed a street adjacent to Independence Hall, a major tourist attraction and the site where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. The national park also contains the Liberty Bell.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton asked Ridge to call Street because her department feared the casualties and damage a vehicle bomb could do.
"The mayor said no," Ridge recounted, noting that Street cited possible disruption to the community and traffic issues. Still, Ridge said his agency will look for other ways to protect the area.
In the meeting with reporters, Ridge also said his department would directly provide nearly $100 million to seven cities to cover security improvements.
Chicago would receive nearly $11 million as part of a federal urban area security initiative.
The money was in response to recent complaints by mayors that the high terrorist threat level the department put in place at the start of the Iraq war has cost them millions in additional dollars.
What's more, mayors have blamed the federal government's practice of sending money first to the states to then distribute to cities as unnecessarily delaying when the money reached localities.
Distribution of funds
New York will receive the most, about $25 million, followed by Washington at $18 million. Los Angeles will receive about $12 million. San Francisco and Seattle will get about $11 million each, and Houston nearly $9 million.
Cities were chosen based on a combination of factors, including population density, critical infrastructure and assessments of their vulnerability to attack, administration officials said.
"There are a lot of potentially deserving communities," Ridge said.
"But we could spread this money around so that everybody got a little bit and none of it would make a difference. ... We wanted to make sure that significant dollars were distributed so that significant investments could be made."
Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune
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This guy Mayor Daley is stark raving mad ! I thought only politicians in India were given to these pranks ( but the heat and dust of India keeps their sanity anyways on edge ! 0
I learnt all my virtual flying at Meigs ! I am shocked dismayed and dissapointed to see this go.
Even if the argument was development ( a la a very stupid reason given by a state government in India for trying to raze down the oldest Womens College in the city that dates back to the 1800's ) one could still say Tut ! But a TERRORIST ATTACK ! ???????
I mean how on earth ?
And what happens to the craft still there ?
If a terrorist can strike at the Pentagon, WHAT IS SAFE ANYWAYS ?
So carrying that argument to its logical absurdity, ALL arifields should be shut down due the same reason !
I wish I was there. We could have staged dharnas ( or sit-ins ) and prevented this
Yours Very agitatedly
Joles
I learnt all my virtual flying at Meigs ! I am shocked dismayed and dissapointed to see this go.
Even if the argument was development ( a la a very stupid reason given by a state government in India for trying to raze down the oldest Womens College in the city that dates back to the 1800's ) one could still say Tut ! But a TERRORIST ATTACK ! ???????
I mean how on earth ?
And what happens to the craft still there ?
If a terrorist can strike at the Pentagon, WHAT IS SAFE ANYWAYS ?
So carrying that argument to its logical absurdity, ALL arifields should be shut down due the same reason !
I wish I was there. We could have staged dharnas ( or sit-ins ) and prevented this
Yours Very agitatedly
Joles
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FAA fines Chicago
The Federal Aviation Administration is fining the city $33,000 for its demolition of Meigs Field and says it is investigating whether federal funds were improperly diverted to pay for the destruction of the lakefront airport.
Mayor Richard Daley quietly ordered the demolition March 30, 2003. Crews began bulldozing the airport's only runway late that night.
Daley had argued Meigs could have helped terrorists attack nearby landmarks such as Sears Tower; critics say he exploited terror fears to pursue his goal of making a park out of the airfield.
The city, however, failed to give the FAA a required 30-day notice before it shut down Meigs Field, agency spokesman Tony Molinaro said.
The fine proposed Friday is $1,100 a day for every day the city failed to give notice.
The city can pay the fine, request a meeting with FAA officials or seek a hearing with an administrative law judge, Molinaro said.
The FAA is also investigating whether $1.5 million was improperly diverted from the O'Hare Airport Development Fund to pay for the demolition, Molinaro said. The FAA had warned the city against using the funds for work at Meigs Field before the order was given to tear up the runway, Molinaro said.
City Department of Aviation spokeswoman Annette Martinez said the city has received the complaint and is reviewing it, and denied the city misused federal funds.
The FAA could fine the city up to $4.5 million if it is determined the funds were improperly used and the city refuses to return the money, Molinaro said.
Mayor Richard Daley quietly ordered the demolition March 30, 2003. Crews began bulldozing the airport's only runway late that night.
Daley had argued Meigs could have helped terrorists attack nearby landmarks such as Sears Tower; critics say he exploited terror fears to pursue his goal of making a park out of the airfield.
The city, however, failed to give the FAA a required 30-day notice before it shut down Meigs Field, agency spokesman Tony Molinaro said.
The fine proposed Friday is $1,100 a day for every day the city failed to give notice.
The city can pay the fine, request a meeting with FAA officials or seek a hearing with an administrative law judge, Molinaro said.
The FAA is also investigating whether $1.5 million was improperly diverted from the O'Hare Airport Development Fund to pay for the demolition, Molinaro said. The FAA had warned the city against using the funds for work at Meigs Field before the order was given to tear up the runway, Molinaro said.
City Department of Aviation spokeswoman Annette Martinez said the city has received the complaint and is reviewing it, and denied the city misused federal funds.
The FAA could fine the city up to $4.5 million if it is determined the funds were improperly used and the city refuses to return the money, Molinaro said.
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Chicago Makes Case for Using AIP Funds To Bulldoze Meigs
Last Friday the city of Chicago filed a 43-page legal brief with the FAA claiming the city was justified in using $2.8 million in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding to tear up Meigs Field in March 2003. The brief came in response to an October FAA investigation into whether or not funds intended for O’Hare and Midway were illegally used to destroy Meigs. The city claims there is precedent for using such funds to dismantle “abandoned” airports, citing the cases of Denver Stapleton and Austin (Texas) Robert Mueller Airports. Both sites were shut down concurrently with the opening of new airports meant to take their places—Denver International Airport and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, respectively. Critics of the city’s actions dispute the connection. AOPA president Phil Boyer said the funds were meant for airport construction, not destruction. An NBAA spokesman said the application of AIP funding in this case was a “gross misuse” of the money, since—unlike the two cases cited as precedent—the action served to “reduce capacity rather than increase it.” The FAA must decide if the use of the funds was appropriate. According to AOPA, the city could face fines of up to three times the $2.8 million diverted, or $8.4 million.
Last Friday the city of Chicago filed a 43-page legal brief with the FAA claiming the city was justified in using $2.8 million in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding to tear up Meigs Field in March 2003. The brief came in response to an October FAA investigation into whether or not funds intended for O’Hare and Midway were illegally used to destroy Meigs. The city claims there is precedent for using such funds to dismantle “abandoned” airports, citing the cases of Denver Stapleton and Austin (Texas) Robert Mueller Airports. Both sites were shut down concurrently with the opening of new airports meant to take their places—Denver International Airport and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, respectively. Critics of the city’s actions dispute the connection. AOPA president Phil Boyer said the funds were meant for airport construction, not destruction. An NBAA spokesman said the application of AIP funding in this case was a “gross misuse” of the money, since—unlike the two cases cited as precedent—the action served to “reduce capacity rather than increase it.” The FAA must decide if the use of the funds was appropriate. According to AOPA, the city could face fines of up to three times the $2.8 million diverted, or $8.4 million.
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CHICAGO USED AIRPORT MONEY TO DESTROY MEIGS
The City of Chicago is telling the FAA that Meigs Field was an "abandoned" airport that had to be cleaned up. That assertion comes in response to an FAA probe into whether the city illegally used federal funds. AOPA President Phil Boyer described the city's stance as "another insult." Acting on a complaint filed by AOPA in February, the FAA has proposed fining Chicago $33,100, the maximum allowed, for not providing a required 30-day notice before closing Meigs Field. The FAA is also investigating whether the city illegally diverted $1.5 million in federal funds intended for O'Hare Airport improvements to rip up Meigs' runway and tear down the control tower. In a 40-page legal brief responding to the FAA's notice of investigation, Chicago admitted that it actually spent $2.8 million of O'Hare and Midway airport development funds to destroy Meigs and remove any evidence that it was once an airport. "Meigs Field was willfully destroyed by elected officials using public monies that were intended for airport construction, not destruction," Boyer said. "We're analyzing the city's brief to determine if there is an appropriate legal response from AOPA. But it's clear that the city is—once again—engaging in revisionist history and justification." If the FAA determines Chicago used airport funds improperly, it could fine the city three times the amount of diverted funds. That could make the fine as much as $8.4 million. See AOPA Online.
The City of Chicago is telling the FAA that Meigs Field was an "abandoned" airport that had to be cleaned up. That assertion comes in response to an FAA probe into whether the city illegally used federal funds. AOPA President Phil Boyer described the city's stance as "another insult." Acting on a complaint filed by AOPA in February, the FAA has proposed fining Chicago $33,100, the maximum allowed, for not providing a required 30-day notice before closing Meigs Field. The FAA is also investigating whether the city illegally diverted $1.5 million in federal funds intended for O'Hare Airport improvements to rip up Meigs' runway and tear down the control tower. In a 40-page legal brief responding to the FAA's notice of investigation, Chicago admitted that it actually spent $2.8 million of O'Hare and Midway airport development funds to destroy Meigs and remove any evidence that it was once an airport. "Meigs Field was willfully destroyed by elected officials using public monies that were intended for airport construction, not destruction," Boyer said. "We're analyzing the city's brief to determine if there is an appropriate legal response from AOPA. But it's clear that the city is—once again—engaging in revisionist history and justification." If the FAA determines Chicago used airport funds improperly, it could fine the city three times the amount of diverted funds. That could make the fine as much as $8.4 million. See AOPA Online.
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I just wonered if anyone knew the latest position here, having heard nothing for some time.
We know the field is lost, but has that mare, sorry, mayor, had to pay up?
I thought it was happening again at Shoreham, the webcam shows a bulldozer.... http://www.shorehamairport.co.uk/webcam.asp
We know the field is lost, but has that mare, sorry, mayor, had to pay up?
I thought it was happening again at Shoreham, the webcam shows a bulldozer.... http://www.shorehamairport.co.uk/webcam.asp
