Daley Spouts, Tries To Justify "Meigs Massacre"

E-I-C Note: As noted in previous ANN coverage, ever-present political opportunist, Mayor Richard Daley, has tried to use the recent Washington ADIZ scare to his benefit. The Friends of Meigs have just sent us a response, which we reprint, unedited in it's entirety... as it says it ALL rather well.--Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C

Friends Of Meigs Statement

On Thursday, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley again spouted off, trying to justify his closure of Meigs Field on the basis of an erroneous flight into Washington DC's flight restricted zone.

"Everybody made fun of me," said Daley, admitting that he has taken enormous public pressure over the midnight destruction of Meigs in 2003 after his pledge to keep it open until 2026.

Yet instead of admitting his mistake, he tried to justify it on the basis of Wednesday's pilot error in Washington. Moreover, he called for permanent flight restrictions over all big cities, with penalties of up to half a million dollars for violators.

The fact of the matter is that Chicago is less safe from terrorism without Meigs Field than with it:

• Meigs' control tower monitored and limited access to downtown airspace.
• Medevac flights used Meigs to access downtown hospitals.
• Search and rescue and firefighting flights used Meigs as a base to protect downtown high rises and lakefront boaters
• Meigs was a planned staging point for first responders to natural and man-made (terrorist) disasters.

More importantly, general aviation is an important industry in the U.S., contributing over $100 million annually to the economy, according to a study by the National Business Aviation Association, accounting for over 3/4 of all flights in the country, connecting thousands of small communities without regular commercial air service, and providing life-saving services like medevac and search and rescue. Mayor Daley, apparently, would like to see this industry go away, so he can enjoy his park.

Meigs Field is the only infrastructure demolished by terrorism in the U.S. since 2001, and under false pretenses for personal political gain.

Stop the baloney, Mr. Mayor.

FMI: www.friendsofmeigs.org