More Legislation in D.C. to Prevent More Daley-Like Felonies

The FAA, caught flat-footed when Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley usurped their power and destroyed Meigs Field in the dead of night last Spring, has successfully lobbied Congress to come up with yet another way to make hizonner's acts -- or, more-specifically, acts like his -- even more illegal.

Inside the FAA Reauthorization Bill is language that would require cities to tell the FAA 30 days in advance, when they were about to destroy or close their airports. They can still close the airports; it's just that, if the FAA gets embarrassed again, the city could be fined as much as $10,000 a day, for every day the airport remains closed.

Toothless legislation makes everybody feel better.

"The closing of Meigs is one of those things that has really been a terrific problem from all of our standpoint," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said. "The legislation would prevent an airport like that from being converted without other considerations' being made." At least, without her knowledge; her consent apparently isn't required.

So, though the legislation will no doubt heralded as a big triumph for aviation, all it really will do is keep the FAA from being surprised by the next tinpot jerk who's running a city as though he owned it. If it keeps the FAA from looking bad, it must be good.

FMI: www.faa.gov