Lawmakers Want Fast Action

Go for it. That's the word from FAA Administrator Marion Blakey to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. She went on record last week as backing his administration's plan to expand O'Hare International Airport.

Testifying on Capitol Hill Thursday, Blakey told lawmakers, "There's little question the optimal solution to reduce O'Hare delays rests in additional capacity."

But, to the disappointment of lawmakers like Congressman William Lipinsky (D-IL), Blakey said the FAA will not abandon or curtail its environmental studies related to the expansion plan. They won't be complete until this time next year.

Anxious to shed the dubious distinction of hosting more delayed flights than any other airport in the country, O'Hare executives promised to hold Blakey to that. "If there are ways to move the process along," said City Aviation Commissioner John Roberson, "that's what we want to do. But at the very minimum, we want them to adhere to the schedule they've laid out." Roberson was quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times.

FMI: www.ohare.com