Sun, Jun 01, 2003
But Other Appeals Still Pending
It's a serious setback for supports of Meigs Field in Chicago -
the GA airport whose runway was rendered unusable by bulldozers in
the middle of the night on orders from Mayor Richard Daley. Friday,
an Illinois state appeals court gave Daley the go-ahead to finish
the job.
TRO Lifted
The late-Friday afternoon decision lifted a temporary
restraining order banning further destruction of Meigs pending a
lawsuit filed by the Friends Of Meigs Field and other airport
advocates. The TRO had been in effect for exactly one week. It
allows Daley and his wrecking crews to go forward with plans to
plow the entire airport under - destroying hangars, administrative
offices, FBOs and the control tower complex.
More Setbacks
Also on Friday, AOPA withdrew its much-vaunted lawsuit aimed at
stopping Daley from further destroying the lakeside airport. The
federal lawsuit was dropped as the Illinois State Legislature
weeded out pro-Meigs language from two aviation-related bills aimed
at expanding O'Hare Airport.
"This whole
thing is about what's good and bad government," said Steven
Whitney, chairman of the Friends of Meigs Field, quoted in
Saturday's Chicago Sun-Times. "What this seems to say is that it's
fine for the city fathers to go about destroying public assets in
the dark of night. Everybody we've talked to thinks that wrong.
It's discouraging that the court thinks it's OK."
But Whitney isn't giving up yet. Friends of Meigs and other
airport supporters vow to take the issue to the Illinois Supreme
Court or even take the case to federal court if they aren't able to
stop Meigs' destruction.
More News
From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]
Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]
Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]
Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]
"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]