Peotone proponents want to nab cargo too

8 comments September 11th, 2009

So not only do backers of the “South Suburban Airport” want it to be Chicago’s third major passenger airport, they also want it to be the third major cargo airport (or fourth, depending on if you count Milwaukee):

The state and county plan to develop a cargo airport as part of an ambitious multimodal transport complex that will include up to four intermodal rail yards, access to three interstate highways, and up to 135 million square feet of industrial warehousing and distribution space, 20 percent of which currently sits vacant due to the economic downturn.

There is one major obstacle, however: One of the world’s most established cargo airports, O’Hare International, sits only 40 miles away.

State and county officials seem unfazed. As they see it, the “South Suburban Airport” will offer a compelling alternative to O’Hare, with its lower airline landing fees, less-congested airside and landside operations, and convenient connections to Interstates 55, 57, and 65 as well as to intermodal rail services. “Our point of distribution is more friendly than O’Hare’s,” says John Grueling, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development.

Rockford is mentioned as an example of how the area could support multiple cargo airports. There’s been much talk about whether a Peotone airport would hurt Rockford’s efforts to draw more passenger traffic, but cargo seems to be a bigger threat. Passengers from downtown Chicago and the south suburbs aren’t going to do much driving to Rockford, and those in the northwest burbs aren’t going to Peotone. But cargo operations looking to serve Chicagoland or the Midwest in general don’t care where they are in the region as long as they’re near interstates and rail.

Will County’s push to become a bigger and bigger logistics hub - Chuck Sweeny notes that Union Pacific is building yet another intermodal facility there - might have an effect on Rockford’s push to do the same. Or maybe not … Chicago is pretty big and could use a few logistics centers. But the airport could be an interesting wrinkle…

More from the world’s funniest storage facility

Add comment September 8th, 2009

Last year, I told you about Toby Jones and his unique way of handling your storage needs. Well, he’s got a new, also hilarious commercial (nope, the business is still not real, and it’s still not entiiiiirely work safe):

Today’s fuel price musings - Rockford is lower than half the country!

3 comments September 1st, 2009

I haven’t done one of these in six weeks, mainly because gas prices don’t do much in the summer (unless hurricanes go crazy, which they haven’t yet). But with a new month, a new commitment. Let’s see where prices go this fall (and fall they may, thought expect them back up a year from now).

What stood out is that Rockford is not only below the national average in gas prices, but we’re 149th of the country’s 280 metro area. That’s right, most of the country has higher gas prices than we do. When’s the last time that has happened?

Here are the prices from this morning (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: Rockford dropped a cent to $2.56 a gallon today, up almost three cents in the past month but down $1.19 in the past year. We’re sixth in the state. The Illinois average dropped a cent to $2.64 a gallon, up almost four cents in the past month but down $1.23 in the past year. The national average dropped slightly but stayed at $2.61 a gallon, up seven cents in the past month but down $1.08 in the past year. Illinois has the 19th-highest gas prices in the nation, including the District of Columbia.

Diesel: Rockford remained at $2.72 a gallon, a 10-cent increase in the past month but a $1.41 drop in the past year. We have the fourth-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average remained at $2.71, a nine-cent increase in the past month but a $1.62 drop in the past year. The national average dropped almost a cent to $2.69, an 11-cent increase in the past month but a $1.57 drop in the past year. Illinois has the 21th-highest diesel prices in the country, including the District of Columbia.

So a question, dear readers. Do the fact that gas prices are way lower than a year ago make you more likely to travel this Labor Day weekend? Or is the economy so bad that you’re staying put, no matter what gas prices  are?