Metro752
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Keep Jesse Jackson Jr out of WILL COUNTY!
Chicago Corruption can stay in COOK! Jerrry Weller PWNS!
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=18908
Rep. Jackson urges IL to challenge Peotone rider
Provision would give Will County majority on airport board
(AP) - U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. called on state officials Thursday to challenge a provision of a federal defense authorization bill that he says threatens development of a third Chicago-area airport.
Jackson said the provision, slipped into a larger bill recently approved by the U.S. Senate, improperly applies federal oversight to a local project in Chicago's south suburbs.
But Republican Congressman Jerry Weller, whose district encompasses the proposed airport's Peotone location, said his amendment would protect the interests of municipalities near the site.
"The communities which are going to be most affected by the development of the airport ought not to be shut out of the process of building and controlling it," said Weller, who backs a rival plan developed by the Will County Center for Economic Development.
Weller's amendment was part of a bill approved late Wednesday by the Senate and sent to President Bush for approval.
Under the amendment, Will County residents would have to hold a majority of seats on the airport's governing board before the airfield's proposed layout could receive Federal Aviation Administration approval. It would also require the proposed airport to abide by federal rules on land procurement and the selection of developers, even though a group formed by Jackson has picked developers already.
Jackson said Gov. Rod Blagojevich should challenge the amendment in federal court. There is no need to enforce federal procurement rules because the plan devised by his commission calls for no federal funding, Jackson said.
"The airport developers will invest hundreds of millions of dollars of their own money to finance the airport's construction, not taxpayer dollars," Jackson said.
The Chicago Democrat added that he was unable to block the amendment because it was a small, last-minute change to a much larger bill.
Blagojevich spokesman Gerardo Cardenas said the governor's office would review the amendment before determining if it should be challenged in court.
"We have said in the past that we feel that this amendment created another layer of process that could complicate things, but our position was always to work with all the parties involved on the Peotone airport," he said. "Our goal is to build a south suburban airport."
Jackson also said Thursday that he decided to reorganize the commission to give Will County officials more of a stake in its board. The move comes in response to a nonbinding opinion released last week by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Madigan said the state needed approval from the General Assembly before it could turn the land over to Jackson's commission.
The contract agreement did not appear to comply with Illinois law because some of the municipalities in the commission were not home ruled, Madigan's office said.
"Our effort is not about who controls the airport, but rather who is committed to it," Jackson said.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/top/4_1_JO22_WELLER_S1.htm
Weller set for airport discussion
• Representative's amendment: Press conference planned by previously mum politician
U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller
By Cindy Wojdyla Cain Staff Writer
JOLIET — For eight months, U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller has been playing his Peotone airport cards close to his vest.
Real close. In fact, the Morris Republican hasn't said a word publicly about an airport amendment he had added to the federal Defense Authorization Act.
Today, he plans to play the hand Congress has helped him deal. Weller will have a press conference at 9:30 a.m. today at the Will County Office Building, 302 N. Chicago St., to explain his amendment.
"My belief is you don't show your hand until you're at a point where you've got things taken care of," he said.
Weller said he expected the Senate to approve the Defense Authorization Act late Wednesday or sometime today.
Tucked inside the act is a provision that guarantees Will County a majority on any airport governance authority. And it requires the project to follow federal procurement guidelines when it is bid. document.write("")
That procurement language will protect county taxpayers against "backroom, insider, sweetheart deals," he said.
Having a majority on the airport governance board also will protect taxpayers who will have to pay for infrastructure improvements that will support the airport, he said.
The House has already approved the authorization act, and Weller had expected the measure to be approved by now. But wrangling over the Defense Appropriation Act, a different bill, has slowed things down in the Senate, he said.
Even so, Weller, said he was proud of his accomplishment, which came with the blessing of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Yorkville.
"My basic message is: Will County taxpayers win with the Weller amendment," Weller said.
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Chicago, who has been fighting with Will County officials over control of the proposed airport, also is having a press conference this morning to make a "major announcement" on the airport.
And state Senate President Emil Jones is having an airport summit this afternoon with fellow Democrats, including Jackson, to discuss the airport project.
Weller wasn't invited to the Jones meeting.
"Perhaps Emil Jones is trying to see if he can convince people outside of Will County the airport is being built in Will County," Weller said.
Even with the flurry of airport activity these past few weeks, Federal Aviation Administration approval of the project is still 18-24 months away, Weller said.
Chicago Corruption can stay in COOK! Jerrry Weller PWNS!
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=18908
Rep. Jackson urges IL to challenge Peotone rider
Provision would give Will County majority on airport board
(AP) - U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. called on state officials Thursday to challenge a provision of a federal defense authorization bill that he says threatens development of a third Chicago-area airport.
Jackson said the provision, slipped into a larger bill recently approved by the U.S. Senate, improperly applies federal oversight to a local project in Chicago's south suburbs.
But Republican Congressman Jerry Weller, whose district encompasses the proposed airport's Peotone location, said his amendment would protect the interests of municipalities near the site.
"The communities which are going to be most affected by the development of the airport ought not to be shut out of the process of building and controlling it," said Weller, who backs a rival plan developed by the Will County Center for Economic Development.
Weller's amendment was part of a bill approved late Wednesday by the Senate and sent to President Bush for approval.
Under the amendment, Will County residents would have to hold a majority of seats on the airport's governing board before the airfield's proposed layout could receive Federal Aviation Administration approval. It would also require the proposed airport to abide by federal rules on land procurement and the selection of developers, even though a group formed by Jackson has picked developers already.
Jackson said Gov. Rod Blagojevich should challenge the amendment in federal court. There is no need to enforce federal procurement rules because the plan devised by his commission calls for no federal funding, Jackson said.
"The airport developers will invest hundreds of millions of dollars of their own money to finance the airport's construction, not taxpayer dollars," Jackson said.
The Chicago Democrat added that he was unable to block the amendment because it was a small, last-minute change to a much larger bill.
Blagojevich spokesman Gerardo Cardenas said the governor's office would review the amendment before determining if it should be challenged in court.
"We have said in the past that we feel that this amendment created another layer of process that could complicate things, but our position was always to work with all the parties involved on the Peotone airport," he said. "Our goal is to build a south suburban airport."
Jackson also said Thursday that he decided to reorganize the commission to give Will County officials more of a stake in its board. The move comes in response to a nonbinding opinion released last week by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Madigan said the state needed approval from the General Assembly before it could turn the land over to Jackson's commission.
The contract agreement did not appear to comply with Illinois law because some of the municipalities in the commission were not home ruled, Madigan's office said.
"Our effort is not about who controls the airport, but rather who is committed to it," Jackson said.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/top/4_1_JO22_WELLER_S1.htm
Weller set for airport discussion
• Representative's amendment: Press conference planned by previously mum politician
By Cindy Wojdyla Cain Staff Writer
JOLIET — For eight months, U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller has been playing his Peotone airport cards close to his vest.
Real close. In fact, the Morris Republican hasn't said a word publicly about an airport amendment he had added to the federal Defense Authorization Act.
Today, he plans to play the hand Congress has helped him deal. Weller will have a press conference at 9:30 a.m. today at the Will County Office Building, 302 N. Chicago St., to explain his amendment.
"My belief is you don't show your hand until you're at a point where you've got things taken care of," he said.
Weller said he expected the Senate to approve the Defense Authorization Act late Wednesday or sometime today.
Tucked inside the act is a provision that guarantees Will County a majority on any airport governance authority. And it requires the project to follow federal procurement guidelines when it is bid. document.write("")
That procurement language will protect county taxpayers against "backroom, insider, sweetheart deals," he said.
Having a majority on the airport governance board also will protect taxpayers who will have to pay for infrastructure improvements that will support the airport, he said.
The House has already approved the authorization act, and Weller had expected the measure to be approved by now. But wrangling over the Defense Appropriation Act, a different bill, has slowed things down in the Senate, he said.
Even so, Weller, said he was proud of his accomplishment, which came with the blessing of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Yorkville.
"My basic message is: Will County taxpayers win with the Weller amendment," Weller said.
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Chicago, who has been fighting with Will County officials over control of the proposed airport, also is having a press conference this morning to make a "major announcement" on the airport.
And state Senate President Emil Jones is having an airport summit this afternoon with fellow Democrats, including Jackson, to discuss the airport project.
Weller wasn't invited to the Jones meeting.
"Perhaps Emil Jones is trying to see if he can convince people outside of Will County the airport is being built in Will County," Weller said.
Even with the flurry of airport activity these past few weeks, Federal Aviation Administration approval of the project is still 18-24 months away, Weller said.
