By Barack Obama, published in the Chicago Sun-Times
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
In my eight years in the Illinois Senate, and in many years of community involvement before that, I have often found that opposing viewpoints could be reconciled through respectful negotiation and principled compromise. Usually, those on either side of an issue had legitimate interests at heart. What was necessary was finding a solution that satisfied both.
One of the seemingly intractable challenges facing Illinois policymakers is how to address the need for greater airport capacity in our state's northeastern region. Some advocate the expansion of O'Hare Airport, the world's busiest, which is suffering from delays that threaten its future as the economic engine of our region. Others advocate the construction of a new airport near south suburban Peotone, which would reduce pressure on O'Hare while spreading the economic bounty more equitably across the region.
This challenge is often portrayed as an ''either-or'' proposition: We either expand O'Hare or build Peotone. I believe we should do both.
There is no denying the continuing importance of O'Hare to our regional economy. It is responsible for 450,000 jobs and $38 billion in economic activity. Those huge benefits are threatened by increasing delays and possible flight caps, which could drive air traffic to other airports in other locations. A modernized O'Hare would mean the creation of 195,000 more jobs and another $18 billion in annual economic activity. It would be a grave mistake for policymakers to fail to make the needed investments and allow O'Hare's central role in our regional economy to be diminished.
At the same time, there is a strong case for a third regional airport in the south suburbs -- a region that has struggled economically while other suburban areas have prospered. Employment and income in the south suburbs lags the rest of the Chicago area. The construction and operation of a new airport near Peotone would bring 1,000 construction jobs in the next two years and 15,000 permanent jobs by the first full year of the airport's operations, as well as billions of dollars in new economic activity, to residents and communities that sorely need it.
While the airlines and federal government would pay most of the cost of O'Hare expansion, a major objection to building Peotone has been the potential burden on state taxpayers. But U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a key leader in the Peotone effort, has assembled a group of private investors who are willing to risk their capital on the new airport's prospects. State government's role in the project would be limited to providing infrastructure improvements, such as roads, transit and sewers, which it routinely provides to other development projects around the state. The state also can continue to acquire the necessary land for the project, making sure to adequately compensate local landowners who live within the airport's footprint.
Jackson's proposal is a strong one in a time of expanding government deficits. And, by providing an alternative to federal funds being used in the airport's development, it would complement -- rather than compete with -- Midway and O'Hare. I am hopeful that the South Suburban Airport Commission and Will County officials can come together to work toward balanced economic growth and agree on a unified approach that will provide for economic benefits throughout the south suburbs.
The benefits of a south suburban airport would not be limited to the Chicago region. Many Downstate communities are hampered by their lack of air access to Chicago, since gates for such flights are extremely limited at O'Hare and Midway. An airport near Peotone would provide Downstate communities with enhanced air access to Chicago, as well as accommodating general aviation traffic that formerly utilized Meigs Field. In addition, as the world's first and only airport custom designed, built and priced to attract low-cost carriers, it will attract air service to the Chicago area by startup and discount airlines currently not operating out of Chicago's existing airports.
The bottom line is that expanded air capacity in the Chicago region will benefit all Illinoisans through more jobs, economic growth and more flights to and from Downstate. Achieving these goals need not be an either-or proposition. Through a willingness to compromise and work together in pursuit of our common interests, we can accommodate both an expanded O'Hare and a new third airport. The pressing need for good jobs and economic growth demands that we accept nothing less.
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State Sen. Barack Obama is the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois.
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