Locals Want to Build 7E7 'Dreamliner' 

The airport's not a done deal, but neither is the airplane: it's a match made in heaven.

South of Chicago, near Peotone (IL) is the site for Chicagoland's proposed next airport. It's the answer to tomorrow's question, that question of where all the additional Chicagoland commercial air traffic will go. Peotone has the land available (unlike O'Hare, and clearly unlike Midway), and it's in Illinois (unlike Gary, Indiana), so state and even city politicians can imagine a whiff of the tax revenues.

Peotone, assuming the airport is built, will also the closest practical airport to Boeing's Chicago headquarters, so why not put the 7E7 factory there?

'Iffiness' could help both arguments.

Well, there's still that question: will there be a Peotone airport? With no runway, there would be no factory. That argument runs both ways, though, for airport-boosters: with the announcement that Boeing would locate its 1000-person workforce and supporting infrastructure there, the Peotone Airport idea would have yet another compelling reason to get built.

The basic infrastructure is already there, or readily-available; land is relatively cheap; and Peotone, though decidedly "the sticks" in relation to Chicago, could lure Chicago-area workers, especially on the area's excellent commuter trains. Illinois put a bundle of money into recruiting Boeing, and even the duchy of Chicago would benefit somewhat, as well, from putting more of Boeing's future nearby.

Boeing is having a rough summer, as it pays fines for its employees' cheating on contracts, for being exposed as having been in receipt of some questionable 'help' from a DoD purchasing agent (who now works for Boeing), and for its transparent 767 tanker program; but it's still a 600-pound gorilla economically, and that gorilla is still due its respect.

The Peotone Airport idea deserves some respect, as well; and if the two ideas can be made to reinforce each other, both will face better prospects of success. All Peotone has to do is beat several sites in Texas, in California, near St Louis (in both Missouri and Illinois), and in Washington state... and a dozen or so 'lesser threats.'

We wonder, if Peotone wins the site selection, will Boeing execs then petition for a helipad, or maybe a GA-accessible runway, near downtown Chicago?

FMI: www.boeing.com