X Meigs Field Closed X

[A1FlyBoy]

Police escorted craines on semi-trucks to Meigs Field over the cover of darkness. The City of Chicago crews tore up the runway, gouging large "x's" into the runnway. This- all before the FAA granted approval.

Several aircraft still reside at the airport, but will be allowed to depart.

Looks like Mayor Daley's "no fly zone" and hatred of Meigs is really a done deal. It's a shame that he has to resort to a false hope of "security" which does nothing to truly protect, but ultimatly hurts aviation.

 

[1800 RVR]

What do you expect?

Daley has been wanting this for years, and now it finally seems to be coming true. I almost believe that this is a "legacy" issue for him - wanting the lakefront to be all parks. I agree that it looks nice to have parks, but if you aren't in aviation, you can't explain to someone who isn't, the benefits that Meigs brings to Chicago.

It's such a shame......

 

[rjcap]

After living in downtown Chicago for 18 years I can tell you that the city's lakefront parks are quite impressive. I will miss flying into Meigs but in all honesty the airport was never funded properly and the GA operations were poor.

The big picture for Daley is the push for a 3rd airport ( Peotone ) or a substantial enhancement of Midway. Considering the current airline industry I don't know where all this will lead but down the road there will be a third airport.

For the record I am a conservative but Daley is a sh-t hot big city mayor. He has done a great job woth that town.

 

[jettypeguy]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-030331meigs,0,7637649.story?coll=chi-news-hed


Daley = d1ckhead dictator of chicago

 

[boeingav8r]

At least Microsoft Flight Simulator still starts you off at Meigs Field

 

[nimtz]

F*cking Daley! Just like his old man sending in the cops to kick the cr*p out of the hippies, he thinks he can flout how big his b*lls are all over the city. I imagine those owners of the stranded airplanes at Meigs are going to have some major lawsuits ready for the city of Chicago.
I went down to SPI back in '96 to lobby and help keep Meigs open. We managed to win the backing of Governer Edgar and prevented Daley from giving it the axe in '97 like he wanted. But even then I knew it was only a matter of years until the City of Chicago got what it wanted. After all nobody runs Illinois like the Chicago political machine and take a guess who runs that.
The garden project is all his wife's idea, so I'm sure Richard will do whatever he can to actually get laid. Too bad its gone though. When I used to instruct at PWK, I can't tell you how many foreign visitors I had who just wanted to go up and land at Meigs. They were all so gitty, because of course they had done it on Microsoft Flight Simulator so many times.

 

[KFFA]

I herd that the real reason is that Daley and ALPA I mean the Mafia were to sent up casino boats and use the parks as a cover to get the votes and support...Wait and see if I am wrong. Any normal city would love to have an aiport like that so close to town and the convention center? Daley is clueless. His days are numbered.

 

[starvingcfi]

what a sh*tty f*cking mayor

 

[azpilot]

What a piece of sh!t Mayor Daley is. I hope AOPA funds a recall campaign. I also hope the FAA goes after him. Could this be a criminal act on a federal managed facility?

From AOPA:

Mar. 31 — Sneaking in under the cover of darkness, city of Chicago construction crews began tearing up the runway at Meigs Field this morning at about 1:30 a.m. There was no advance warning, not even to the FAA. Some 16 aircraft are stranded on the field. A city source told the Chicago media that the "airport is closed for good" for "homeland security reasons."

"We are absolutely shocked and dismayed," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Mayor Daley has no honor and his word has no value. The sneaky way he did this shows that he knows it was wrong."

Boyer immediately fired faxes off to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and Transportation Security Administration chief Adm. James M. Loy to discuss possible solutions.

"During a period when the country is at war in the Middle East, why must the mayor of Chicago also play dictator with a most valuable airport and cause additional turmoil inside our own country?" asked Boyer.

"While the federal and state airport laws may not have been broken by this action, last year he pledged to keep the airport open, in support of federal legislation that granted him expansion of O'Hare airport. The mayor has broken his promise not only to the citizens of his own city, but to the pilots of America.

"We will once again explore the legality of this action, but past research indicates that the law hasn't been broken." Boyer continued, "but we're not going to allow the mayor to hide behind the fiction of 'homeland security' for his reprehensible action."

(To see the damage already done to Meigs field, visit www.adlerplanetarium.org and select Sky Eye Cam and then Meigs under "select a view.")

The city's actions caught everyone by surprise. Despite Mayor Richard M. Daley's penchant for publicity, the news media was caught off guard. The FAA was not able to issue a notam on the closing until hours after the fact. AOPA's Legislative Affairs office reports that even some members of the Illinois congressional delegation were caught unawares, particularly interesting since those members of Congress had been working with Mayor Daley on legislation that would preserve Meigs and expand O'Hare International Airport. As late as Friday afternoon, AOPA was in discussions with key staffers from the Illinois delegation concerning that legislation.

The action surprised the Meig's Field FBO. When they asked the city what would happen to the aircraft trapped at the field, the FBO was told, "That's your problem." However, AOPA's Midwest Regional Representative Bill Blake reports that the stranded aircraft may be allowed to depart using the taxiway sometime this week.

Chicago Mayor Daley had sought to close Meigs until a year ago, when an historic agreement between the city and the State of Illinois "guaranteed" the airport's survival for 25 years. Daley gave his word that he would not seek to close Meigs in exchange for support for his plan to expand O'Hare International Airport and build a new airport at Peotone.

As of 9 a.m. EST, the mayor's office had neither released any statement nor scheduled any announcement.

 

[freeflyer14]

What is so sad is that none of the lawsuits, bitching, AOPA fighting, will do any good against Daley. He is like someone had said earlier, a Chicago dictator, not a mayor. This is truely a sad day for Chicago, to loose something that was so unique and a legend in the aviation community. I have lived in Chicago for 22 years, minus the 5 I have been away at school, and only got to fly into Meigs once, just one of those "I'll do it again soon" type things you wish you could have gotten to do again. Daley was just jealous of disneyland and disneyworld. They got TFR's, along with NYC and LA so he felt left out. And someone can correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the governor fly into Meigs all the time in the King Air 350??? Don't the Springfield politicians use it all the time? I know the last (only) time I was there they were preflighting the state of IL 350 waiting for the governor to get back. I asked a line guy about it and he said they (the politicians) all loved meigs, it got them right into downtown without any hassle of commuting.