Closing Miegs Field

[URL=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-030523meigs,1,1276060.story?coll=chi%2Dnews%2Dhed"]Meigs backers lose in federal court after losing in state court earlier today. Any comments?

Yes, I’ll lament the passing of a landmark as I fly PAST Chicago with a wallet full of money.

Comments? Sure, lee, I have a comment:

Get your facts straight before you post

The “Meigs backers” did not “lose” in Federal Court - that lawsuit is still pending. The only thing lost in Federal Court today was a request for a temporary restraining order.

As for the state court - yes, the state lawsuit was thrown out. An appeal has already been filed with the Illinois State Appellate Court. So no, it’s not over yet.

AOPA’s write up on the matter

But, from the article you referenced - which you can’t get to without registering, thanks for opening posters up to spam, lee - I will select a few items so other folks don’t have to be assaulted with the Tribune’s “helpful”, “informational” e-mails:

As you can see, it was a restraining order that was rejected in Federal Court, not the Federal lawsuit.

Well, let’s go back to 1837 when Chicago was incorporated and nothing east of Michigan avenue existed yet. Clearly, God intended Northerly Island (and the museum campus, Streeterville, McCormick Place, etc.) to be a LAKE, not a park, so let’s return it to water. Cars didn’t exist when the Burham Plan was developed, yet we have parking lots all up and down the lakefront. I don’t see where we can’t have less than a mile of pavement for airplanes.

Terrorist threat? Excuse me? The recent bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco - were they carried out with “small planes” or with cars, pickups, and SUV’s? Yet we still allow anyone to just willy-nilly drive through the heart of the Loop? Who knows who these people are, or where they’re going? They could be anybody. They could just pull up alongside the City/County building in a Ford Econovan full of explosives.

Seems to me, based upon historical occurances, the odds of a terrorist attack being carried out with car or small truck is still much higher than with a small airplane.

Uh, yeah - AOPA comes up with a way for the city to basically sell land it already owns back to itself and the Mayor rejects it. Nevermind that the city is starving for money, the moola would be enough to not only repair the airport but also build a park and even use the money to further increase security on Northerly Island and the museum campus. In other words, Daley’s oponents in this lawsuit came up with a way for the city to come out $41 million ahead - and Daley poo-poo’ed it. Clearly, it’s not about money for Da Mare.

And a “nature sanctuary” on a landfill?. That’s about as natural as bifocals. Call it a park - nothing east of Michigan Avenue is “natural” in any sense of the word.

Except there will never be a park on Northerly Island. Daley wants a casino. He wants it on Northerly Island (if land based) or the parking lot on Northerly Island (if floating) - which means a heck of a lot more pavement out there than is currently in existance.

Truth is, you could have nature and an airport - the one I fly out of is next door to a prarie restoration project home to all sorts of wild critters, including North American Ospreys and Blue Herons. We all co-exist pretty well.

:rolleyes:

Here we go again - using “security” to get his way. Excuse me, didn’t he say just after the debacle in late March that security wasn’t the issue? Didn’t that appear in numerous places in print, on TV? Either he was lying then, or he’s lying now - either way, he’s a liar.

Please see earlier posts in this thread re: Daley’s basic dishonesty, references to laws broken, discussion of so-called threat of small aircraft, and how the lack of an airport tower at Meigs Field actually decreases lakefront and airspace safety.

I also wish to offer a quote from the Sun-Times, including a quote from Da Mare himself, in reference to the buy-out plan that would have put the city of Chicago tens of millions of dollars ahead in finances:

How, uh, wonderful :dubious: :rolleyes: to know that the Mayor of City does not include me in the category of “people”.

I am a person. I paid taxes in Chicago for 15 years. I want an airport on Northerly Island - oh, wait, I forgot, I’m a pilot so I don’t count.

Truth is, it’s Daley’s lakefront. He’ll do what he wants and to hell with “the people”

Latest update, available for viewing at www.friendsofmeigs.org (scroll down to find the latest news section):

At 4:45 pm on Friday, May 23 the Illinois State Appellate court stayed the dissolution of the temporary restraining order against Mayor Richard M. Daley, the City of Chicago, and the Chicago Park District, prohibiting further damage to Meigs until June 4 at 4:00 pm.

They have a link to a PDF copy of the actual legal document, for your viewing pleasure.

Gee! I posted what I did as that was the headline of the article I was referencing, nothing more. tsk. tsk.

Looks like it’s all over but the bulldozing:

Park cleared to land at Meigs
Last legal bars lifted by court

I rarely venture into GD, found this by searching.

FAA to sure over Meigs:
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=124c2997-5a2f-44e0-8902-5d262a70a7d2&
Brian

The FAA is also investigating whether or not 1 to 1-1/2 million in airport improvement funds were used to pay to destroy an airport. If so, the City of Chicago could be on the hook for around 4 million in restitution and penalities.

I imagine that will take its time winding through the machinery, though.

Pitiably, it won’t be Dickey “winding his way through the machinery”. Now THAT I’d like to see.
b.