Bored NYT columnist lobbies for Peotone airport
March 17th, 2009 at 03:54pm Thomas V. Bona
I grew up reading and respecting Bob Herbert, but it must be a slow news week at the Gray Lady because he’s written not once, but twice in support of the proposed “third Chicago airport” at Peotone - here and here. He’s obviously good friends with Peotone proponent Jesse Jackson Jr, who has his ear for these columns. The most telling line is:
“No one that I’ve spoken with has found fault with the plan or its financing, which relies primarily on private capital.”
Funny how the Internets have found plenty of people who find fault with the plan:;
- Capitol Fax Blog says that Jackson’s plan is decent, but “something that almost never gets mentioned is that the proposed airport footprint is not in Jackson’s congressional district, and some of the people who live in or adjacent to that footprint, particularly in Will County, don’t think that Jackson should be dictating to them.”
- Blogger Carol Henrichs notes there are five airports in the region (Gary, Rockford and Milwaukee) so it’s not a sure thing that Peotone would grow fast and bring lots of jobs. “Mid-America Airport is another Illinois airport in the cornfields studied by the same IDOT consultants that wrote reports on Peotone. But they built it and nobody came. Billed as a reliever to St. Louis’ Lambert Field, Mid-America has become nothing more than a burden on the local taxpayers who are now stuck with it. And, it has been virtually a ghost town for a decade. The same thing could happen at Peotone.”
- American Thinker says: “And the idiocy of building a small airport 40 miles from downtown Chicago that could “easily be expanded” begs the question; why build infrastructure and roads for a major airport and then open a facility designed not to relieve O’Hare congestion but simply steal revenue and traffic from other small towns like Rockford, Champaign, or even Gary, Indiana which has just received FAA permission to build another runway?”
Obviously, we in Rockford are biased - we want the passenger and cargo service to come here, not Peotone. But when you have three growing airports that could easily handle new traffic, maybe you should throw the infrastructure money there first? High-speed rail to Rockford, Milwaukee and Gary would make those airports just as usable as Peotone (assuming a lot of transportation connections there), and they’re already here.
Henrichs hits the nail on the head - “Gary/Chicago International Airport … is closer to Jackson’s constituency than Peotone. Different county/different state – what’s the difference to people who need jobs? Jackson is a U.S. Congressman who should concern himself with jobs in the country, not just the south side of Chicago, and at others’ expense. If airport jobs were available, Jackson’s constituents could get jobs at Gary much easier than at Peotone.”
Shouldn’t we bring the airport-related jobs to the areas that already have quality airports? Between RFD, MKE and GYY, we should be able to handle O’Hare and Midway’s overflow. Use the Peotone farmland for something that’s more needed.
EDIT: I forgot to include one more link. Steve Rhodes of NBC Chicago makes the good point that, “That isn’t news to those of us in Chicago, but we’re not the target of Herbert’s columns. Is Obama?” Perhaps this is a push to get some stimulus money down in Peotone…
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14 Comments Add your own
1. ANDREW | March 19th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I agree that the Peotone airport idea should be scraped. I think it would not only effect Peotone residents but also neighboring towns. I currently live in Bourbonnais and am planing on purchasing a farm on the edge of the proposed airport property. It is some really nice Illinois prarie ground out there. I would hate to see that ground destroyed and all the traffic and noise. If it comes in at some point I will have no problem picking up my whole family and leaving this state. If there is a need for bigger airports then there should be room to expand on or rebuild the near by existing ones.
2. Samantha | March 19th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I vote NO PEOTONE AIRPORT! My family has lived in the proposed airport zone for over 30 years. The airport will up root families and destroy the Peotone community. The state already has 3 active airports not to mention private hangers sprinkled throughout the state. Bult airport located off of Kedzie Ave, also in the proposed zone, recently acquired its JET license. What will become of Bult airport?
The Peotone airport proposal has been hanging over the heads of this community for to long. We don’t want it! I think IL is riddled with corrupt politicians looking to make an extra buck and are putting aside commonsense for a couple extra Benjamin’s in their pockets. What ever happened to the Gary expansion project? That community could greatly benefit from the airport and it is closer to Chicago. Bottom line is that the Peotone airport will not only contaminate Peotone but surrounding towns will also experience an increase in congestion, noise, and pollution. I think the state of IL needs to worry more about their current budget deficit than create additional expenses that will fail in this economy.
3. G. Kent | March 19th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
You write: “Obviously we in Rockford are biased…” This is true. But what I’ve been trying to stress to you (and not very successfully) is that YOU aren’t supposed to be biased.
When Gannett owned the rrstar, one of its credos was to never take sides on any issue. But you have clearly taken sides; you want the airport to succeed. You want the airport to do well. This is fine for readers, but not for reporters. As a reporter you should have no allegiances.
In previous reports you’ve mentioned your “excitement” over certain routes. Feeling it is fine; expressing it isn’t.
4. Craig Knauss | March 19th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
G Kent,
You said, “you (Thomas) want the airport to succeed. You want the airport to do well. ” Yes, Thomas does. Why don‘t you? What does the community gain if the airport fails? What do YOU gain if the airport fails? I lived just up the road from the airport for 23 years. My parents lived there much longer. Back in the 1950s to 1970s, RFD was the white elephant on Kishwaukee St. I am so glad to see the taxpayers finally start to receive some benefit from it. But apparently you don’t, which makes me wonder about your true motives. Are you perhaps one of the Peotone supporters? One of the “connected” people who hopes to make a killing on real estate around Peotone Airport when it’s built, even though Peotone will be an even bigger white elephant? Or don’t you realize that if RFD does become a success, it will be completely off the tax roles? Isn’t that what you want?
In comparison, Dupage County airport has promised the taxpayers for about 30 years that it was going to become tax free. But they haven’t even made a serious effort to get there. Instead, they let the property owners subsidize the operation of multi-million dollar corporate and private aircraft. (They said it was too difficult to charge landing fees, even though O’Hare and Midway do it.) So they just keep levying taxes, year after year after year.
BTW, Mid-America airport, the model for Peotone, only handles about 74 flight operations per day, of which only 28 are civilian craft. The balance are military craft landing at Scott AFB. And only one of the civilian operations is considered a “commercial” flight, in this case, cargo.
5. G. Kent | March 20th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I didn’t say I want the airport to fail. Actually, I would like to see the airport succeed.
BUT, I want the paper’s transportation reporter to give me unbiased stories. I want to know that somebody in this town is looking at the airport with a skeptical eye. I want a watchdog, simple as that.
Bob O’Brien and Mike Dunn don’t need Thomas to tell the world how great they are. They do a wonderful job of that all by themselves.
6. Walt McElligott, Beecher, IL | June 8th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Eastern Will County citizens [living & deceased] have had to put up w/ this phantom regional [no-]airport proposal since it was 1st discussed in 1968. We certainly don’t need a Jesse, Jr. pal from further east than Jackson telling us how wonderful spending another hundred mill on 20,000 acres of the last-best farmland in IL is supposed to be.
Walt
7. Bridget Blackwood | June 8th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I have been irritated and disgusted by this situation for years. IDOT has spent millions of Illinois tax dollars funding study after study and buying up land in the Peotone area. But anyone who has ever actually been to Peotone should blush while trying to build a case for an airport there. How far south is it? Know that point where Illinois becomes endless miles of cornfields? You’ll find Peotone right about there. It would take an enormous amount of expenditure on infrastructure to do anything in that area except grow food. And the worst part to me is that the residents of Peotone have a very stong and vocal opposition to seeing their community destroyed to make way for this useless project. Also, I can’t begin to describe how annoying it is to have this continually touted as a way to bring prosperity to the south suburban area, especially when I’d call it a stretch to include Peotone as a suburb to begin with. What I would like to see is the area’s leadership stop pushing this as the answer to all the area’s problems, and go back to the drawing board for solutions that won’t force their constituents to accept pollution, congestion and the destruction of cohesive communities as a trade-off.
8. Jonathan Lisota | June 8th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I also believe that the third airport should not be built. My reason are: The airlines say they want no part of it, and well not come out there. Also as the population is growing, we need our farmland to produce food products. There already is a nice airport in the area, that serves a good purpose. If a expansion is really needed then the Gary Airport is the place for it.
9. Stella Z. | June 8th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
What happens to politicians once they get elected to an office?
The answer is “They lose ALL COMMON SENSE. Because that’s
what’s been fueling this airport issue all along. It doesn’t matter
to them what the people want (or don’t want). It’s their prestigeous
egos they are fueling, and to h— with the taxpayers. It’s about rime
we put them on the right track (just like Blago!)
10. Sharon Schreiber | June 9th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
All the reasons that I have to list for not needing or wanting an airport here in Peotone would take me forever to type. So, I will just say, “Shame on you Governor Quinn for putting this project on the top of your “to do” list and trying to earmark $100 million for landbanking our prime farmland!”
J. J. Jr. has no business trying to spearhead a ridiculous project like this outside of his own district. Well, this plan is ridiculous no matter where he wants to put it. I can tell you where I want him to put it, but that wouldn’t be lady like!
No third airport is needed OR wanted by the citizens in this area and it is a sad, ridiculous plan to take this prime farmland away from the families that have worked their whole life to maintain. It is their career, their passion and “helllllooooo”, their occupation!! (You know, that thing that we need that allows us to put food on our families table and pay our mortgage, etc.!!!!)
I do have faith, though, that we will overcome the evil that is pushing for this project! An unessential project that will destroy our beautiful land!
11. Thomas V. Bona | June 9th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
To the folks who posted in the last day or two - welcome to the conversation! How did you find this months-old post? Is it linked somewhere?
12. Sharon Schreiber | June 12th, 2009 at 12:17 am
I’ll never tell. : P JK Someone told me about it and I’m just trying to help get our voices heard in any way, shape or form that I can. I hope this gets into the hands of someone who could potentially get the message across, loud and clear to the numbskulls who keep beating a dead horse and wasting our hard earned tax dollars and prime farm land in the mean time. btw, Thanks for the warm welcome, and the great Blog!!
13. sol-mai | October 17th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Are you the Sharon I know??
14. sol-mai | October 17th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
are you the Sharon I know??
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