Airport Was Supposed To Have Stayed Open Until 2024

It was 10 year ago on March 30th that then-Chicago Mayor Richard Daley ordered bulldozers and other heavy equipment to gouge large Xs into the runways at Meigs Field, a lakeside airport that served the city's GA community. While the move was almost universally condemned, those involved in the action saw few repercussions from the destruction of an active airport.

There were several airplanes still on the ramp at Meigs when the city made the runway unusable. Most were able to make a taxiway departure, but some had to be trucked from the airport at the city's expense.

The Chicago Sun-Times Beacon-News reports that the city had to pay a $33,000 fine and return about a million dollars in federal airport development grants as a result of the action. Daley closed the airport after telling then-governor George Ryan that the airport would stay open until 2024. But Daley had reportedly wanted to convert the property into a lakefront park since 1995, and decided to take matters into his own hands. The park sees limited use today. He used the threat of terrorism to justify his actions.

Steve Whitney, the president of an organization called 'Friends of Meigs Field', said that there were planes inbound to Meigs the morning that the destruction of the airport occurred.

But those involved have seen few consequences from their actions. Daley is a highly-paid consultant and investor in his post-political career. Frank Kruesi, the former president of the Chicago Transit Authority who reportedly masterminded the plan, has retired to the North Carolina mountains with his wife, where they raise goats and make cheese. He told the paper that he was only one of many people involved in the decision to close the airport. John Harris, who held the positions of first deputy aviation commissioner and budget director in the Daley administration, is now a successful electrical contractor in Chicago. He was chief of staff for then-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, and spent 10 days in jail after testifying against the now-convicted governor at his trials.

The move drew criticism from Congress, as well as some prominent pilots such as actor Harrison Ford, who often condemned the action. Daley, however, remains unrepentant about closing the airport. Before leaving office, he called the closing of Meigs Field for a public park "one of the greatest things" he did during his political career.

(Images from file)

FMI: http://friendsofmeigs.org