THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS

I read an article today about a near catastrophe at O'Hare on Wednesday. When President Bush came to town to sign that boondoggle of a transportation bill, he landed at O'Hare and then took Marine One to Montgomery, IL, outside of Aurora. While he was taking off on the chopper from a "remote northern airstrip," two advance helicopters carrying press and administration officials were flying low on their way to the site.

A 747 was preparing to land and apparently had to swerve when the pilots saw the two choppers below. It is unclear as to what really happened, though, so I may have the story wrong. No one was hurt.

But this bullshit about O'Hare expansion is turning into insanity. While our "leaders" sit back and argue ad nauseum and gavel the meetings before anything gets done, we live here with dangerous conditions at the world's busiest airport. The solution is NOT to make it bigger.

The plans up for debate involve kicking people out of their homes (while low-balling the prices of their properties) and building another airstrip. Yeah, that'll do a whole hell of a lot. The problem isn't so much capacity as it is rampant disorganization. There is not enough room for what O'Hare provides, this is true to a degree, but that's no excuse for dangerous runway configuration and all the other problems that force me to sit, taxiing, for an hour every time I go somewhere.

I'm against the expansion plan primarily, but not exclusively, because the current proposal provides Mayor Daley with condemnation power outside of the city of Chicago. This is unconstitutional. Daley cannot condemn a property in a city that he is not accountable to. The condemned cannot vote him out of office. They have no standing in that situation.

There is no downside to building a third airport in Peotone. We need it badly. Having the "South Suburban" airport will allow people who live in the southern suburbs and south western suburbs as well as people who may live closer to Peotone than Midway to fly out without adding to the already immense congestion. I believe that part of the plan provides for a road to be built connecting I-57 to the south suburbs, not including I-80. The local economy of Peotone will boom overnight. I think we need to focus on the safety of passengers as opposed to any perceived benefit to local congressmen in the O'Hare neck of the woods. Furthermore, one would think that airlines would be for a Peotone airport because it would mean better efficiency at all airports and happier customers, which will always lead to more tickets bought.

Maybe I have my armchair economics incorrect, but it seems sensical to me.