X Meigs Field Closed X

[RJlifer]

WWW.Adlerplantetarium.org has a live web cam view of the field. That evil little man pretty much destroyed the runway! You can clearly see the stranded airplanes in the back ground.

 

[navigator72]

What the f**k?

What can be done? How can we let our voices heard? This is Bullsh!T....

 

[ultrarunner]

stranded planes better get out of there

IF it were me, I'd get the fuk outta there while there is still a taxiway suitable for taking off on. I'd had to tell the boss we're gonna have to take the wings off his plane and ship it home.

Really folks better get outta there.

 

[SaabStory]

The apocalypse is upon us.....well maybe not. I'm over it.

 

[ProLine4]

F*ck Daley

What the f*ck does he think he is doing? Seeing as the airport was/is maintained to Part 139 standards (most likely with federal grants) from when LakesAir flew SPI-CGX, I sure hope the FAA and the various alphabet groups can have a field day with this.

That p*ssy doesn't even have an email listed under his contact information.

 

[saabcaptain]

As a Chicagoian this is just disgusting. First off how does this improve security? The TFR banning flights below 3000 feet above Chicago does nothing, how long does it take a dive to put an airplane into a building from 3000 feet to 1100 feet (the height of the Sears Tower?) Please! Further the WAY this was done, with no notice, no discussion, major hardship to the FBOs, plane owners etc. who had no warning about the closing... horrible!

 

[azpilot]

Don't you understand that if planes can't take off from Meigs they can't run into buildings? Kinda like Die Hard II when the planes could only land at Dulles and not the other 2 airports around the DC area! NOT!

Mayor Daley is a worthless piece of sh!t.

 

[JJay]

E-mail Daly's Office Here:

E-mail Richard Daly with your thoughts at the address below:

http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Mayor/mayorfeedback.html

 

[Junioriuie]

Anyone know who owns the planes still stranded there? They need to file a big-arse lawsuit against the City of Chicago.

I'd make Chicago pay for the dismantling, transportation, and reassembly costs AS WELL AS the cost of the 757 I had to charter because my plane was stranded in Meigs not to mention being compensated for loss of work and time in having to deal with this mess. I hope Daley gets the pants sued off of him!

 

[azpilot]

Poll from the Chicago Tribune:

Grounded
Was closing Meigs Field a good idea?

30.0%
Yes (2591 responses)

70.0%
No (6034 responses)

8625 total responses
(Poll results not scientific)

From the article on Chicagotribune.com

Saying he acted out of concern for public safety and desire to spare citizens "months and maybe years" of contentious debate, Mayor Richard Daley today defended his decision to close Meigs Field and have its runway torn up in the dark of night.

"We have done this to protect the millions of people who live, work and visit downtown Chicago in these very uncertain times," Daley said at a City Hall news conference after construction equipment early this morning put Meigs out of commission.

The safety of the entire city has to take precedence over the wishes of a handful of private pilots and business people," the mayor said.

But Daley, who has long sought to close Meigs and replace it with a park and nature preserve, said the city had received no specific threat about a possible terrorist attack involving a private aircraft.

About 11 p.m. Sunday, several backhoes, large trucks carrying floodlights, generators and other equipment arrived at the airport and started working on the north-to-south runway. Chicago police barred access to the field for anyone else.

Asked why the city took the action without warning, Daley said: "To do this any other way would have been needlessly contentious and jeopardized public safety and prolonged concerns and anxiety among Chicagoans for months and maybe years."

The city has operated Meigs under a month-to-month lease with the Chicago Park District. The park district has terminated the lease, so the city had no choice but to close the airport, city officials said.

Daley said the March 22 federal implementation of a no-fly zone over the city was "simply not enough" to ensure the safety of the public.

That rule prohibited small aircraft from flying within 3,000 feet of the ground over downtown and much of the North Side, but allowed continued access to Meigs.

But Daley complained that a temporary flight restriction could be rescinded at any time.

"More important, it does not address the problem that occurs every day as aircraft approach Meigs Field, with a few hundred yards and only a few seconds' flight time from out tallest buildings."

The mayor also expressed concern for the safety of "hundreds of thousands of people" at city festivals, museums and beaches within range of planes at Meigs. "With a sudden turn, they can cause a terrible tragedy downtown or in our crowded parks."

Daley promised that, if the Federal Aviation Administration doesn't let owners of 16 planes stranded at Meigs use a still-intact taxiway for takeoff, the city will reimburse them for removal of their craft by other means.

Steve Whitney, former president of Friends of Meigs Field, criticized the city's use of national security as justification for closing the airport.

Whitney said medical and air-sea rescue aircraft use Meigs, which he contended could also be used by emergency aircraft following a downtown disaster.

"It makes absolutely no sense from any standpoint, particularly for homeland security, to close Meigs Field," Whitney said.

At a City Hall press conference after Daley spoke, Whitney described the mayor's action as "a land grab" and "an abuse of power." He said that his organization would study possible legal action.

"We are absolutely shocked and dismayed," said Phil Boyer, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, another organization that has fought Meigs' closing.

"Mayor Daley has no honor and his word has no value," Boyer said. "The sneaky way he did this shows that he knows it was wrong."

But Boyer and an FAA spokesman conceded that the city appeared to have the legal right to close Meigs.

"The city can do this because Meigs is an unobligated airport," said the FAA's Tony Molinaro. About three years ago, Chicago repaid federal grant funds that had been used to improve Meigs, he said.

The closure did not violate FAA regulations, and the city had the authority to issue a formal Notice to Airmen notifying pilots of the closed runway, Molinaro said. An official with the Chicago Department of Aviation said the notice was issued at 3:02 a.m.

"We at the FAA were concerned to learn this morning of the decision to close Meigs Field, and we have heard already from members of the general aviation community, and we share their concern," Molinaro said.

"We feel that removing any centrally located airport such as Meigs from the national airspace system only diminishes capacity and puts added pressure on O'Hare and Midway airports.''

Last year, Meigs handled 32,000 takeoffs and landings.

Separately, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor also was not told of Daley's plans, but supported the mayor's decision to close Meigs as a matter of public safety.

Daley originally intended to close the airport in February 2002 and turn it into a park and nature preserve, but he held off doing so to win then-Gov. George Ryan's support for federal legislation backing the $6.6 billion expansion of O'Hare International Airport.

Under terms of a deal reached with Ryan in December 2001, Daley agreed to keep the lakefront airport open until Jan. 1, 2026, although Meigs could have been closed anytime after Jan. 1, 2006, by a vote of the General Assembly.

The deal was supposed to have been solidified in federal legislation endorsing the O'Hare expansion.

But U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, earlier this month declared the federal bill dead because of opposition from his Republican counterpart, U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald.

Asked about that deal at today's news conference, Daley replied, "There is no agreement whatsoever."

"The agreement is not in existence. There's no federal legislation," Daley said.

Tribune staff reporters Gary Washburn, Jon Hilkevitch, John Chase and Casey Bukro and CLTV and WGN-Ch. 9 contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune