Any of you who know Chicago know that it is home to two of the nation's largest airports, O'Hare and Midway. However, Chicago has always had a third, smaller airport that is almost just as important, and that is Meigs Field, a man-made single-runway airport built into Lake Michigan right in the middle of the downtown area. The airport was popular for commuter jets and private planes, since it meant they didn't have to hassle with the large airports.
A few months ago, Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago and the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association came to an agreement to keep Meigs Field open for another 25 years, something which Mayor Daley wasn't quite fond of since he has wanted since his election to turn the airport into a park for the waterfront.
At 10pm March 30th, just after Meigs Field closed for the night, Mayor Daley sent the city's construction equipment under the protection of armed police guard to the airport. Under cover of darkness, they did this: The runway at Meigs is now completely destroyed and useless. As you'll notice, over a dozen aircraft were stranded at the airbase because of this move. All employees were turned away when they came to work the next day, and the radar control tower was shut down, making a bit of a hole in the radar coverage of the city.
Mayor Daley's reasoning the next day? Homeland Security. Daley believed that Meigs could be used by terrorists to attack the skyscrapers in downtown Chicago which were only minutes away. However, Daley was found to have never cleared this with the Department of Homeland Security, and has actually caused more risk with the fact that Meigs' control tower helped protect downtown Chicago. Meigs was also used for Air & Sea rescue on Lake Michigan, now impossible without the runway. Those airplanes abandoned at the field were forced to dangerously leave using the taxi lane following special dispensation by the FAA.
A few days after this, Daley announced that he had indeed lied, and that the destruction of Meigs was not for Homeland Security, it was so he could turn it into the park he always wanted. The United States House of Representatives' Aviation Subcommittee is currently debating the Meigs subject, and most are against Daley's actions (except the Representative from Illinois).
BTW, it should be noted that Mayor Daley was voted in as mayor in a scandal that included many of the dead in Chicago voting for him.
[ April 12, 2003, 01:03 AM: Message edited by: The359 ]
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
What an ass, his regime needs to be overthrown.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
In any reasonable world, we'd already be referring to him as "former mayor Daley".
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
I bet he has WMDs!
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Er, 10 pm May 30th? Isn't it a little late for this to be breaking news?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
And of course, Daley's daddy was invovled in a similar scandal, no?
Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
When did I say this was breaking news? I just thought it was interesting news. BTW, fixed the link.
Meigs is a rather famous field since in all of Microsoft's Flight Simulator games, Meigs is the starting point for training.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
May 31, 2003?
Since when was time travel invented?
Toronto should take note. Our inner-city airport was perhaps modeled after Chicago. And there are bids to destroy that airport and expand the park that currently exists (both the airport and park are located on an island just off the mainland).
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
I was under the impression that the even-stupider proposal to expand that airport was going ahead.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
No, they want to build a fixed link first. THEN expand the airport.
Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
Erm, yes, March, not May.
Posted by Cartmaniac (Member # 256) on :
Thought it was an april fools joke when I woke up to the news the next day... dammit, Meigs is a piece of aviation history, YOU DON'T JUST REPLACE THAT BY A FREAKING PARK!
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
quote: A few days after this, Daley announced that he had indeed lied, and that the destruction of Meigs was not for Homeland Security, it was so he could turn it into the park he always wanted. The United States House of Representatives' Aviation Subcommittee is currently debating the Meigs subject, and most are against Daley's actions (except the Representative from Illinois).
Thank George W. Bush and the sheep in congress for what will turn out to be the most abused document in the histroy of the world.
Daily should be yanked from office for pulling something like that. What happens when there is an emergency at one of the bigger airports. O'Hare is the busiest airport in the world, with seconds between take off's and Landings.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
Yanked from office? No way. He's an entrenched family Democrat in "we don't discrimate - even the dead can vote here - twice!" Chicago. You'd have an easier time getting the Kennedys out of Massachusetts.
Posted by Styrofoaman (Member # 706) on :
Nice. That idiot should be removed from office, and all his money siezed to repair the runway.
THEN they should feed him to a jet-engine.
Posted by Styrofoaman (Member # 706) on :
quote:Originally posted by First of Two: You'd have an easier time getting the Kennedys out of Massachusetts.
We tried. Years ago. They keep growing back.
Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
Damn weeds.
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
quote:Originally posted by First of Two: Yanked from office? No way. He's an entrenched family Democrat in "we don't discrimate - even the dead can vote here - twice!" Chicago. You'd have an easier time getting the Kennedys out of Massachusetts.
Is the current MAyor RD Jr. or RD3rd?
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
Now we can't have sons inheriting the political offices of their fathers, can we?
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
Not when they both have a history of doing illegal things and just generally suck, no.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
quote:Originally posted by First of Two: Yanked from office? No way. He's an entrenched family Democrat in "we don't discrimate - even the dead can vote here - twice!" Chicago. You'd have an easier time getting the Kennedys out of Massachusetts.
He's a Democrat? No wonder!!!
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
"You mean, like Bush?"
"Name one illegal thing either Bush has done."
"God, you conservatives are all alike, aren't you? Where was brave Mr. Bush during Iran-Contra? And draft-dodging isn't illegal now? Not to mention illegal wars."
"Wow, a liberal who doesn't make any sense. What a surprise. And draft-dodging is a bad thing now for you? Hypocrite."
And so on.
Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
So, it was a preemptive move then?
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
Spoiled a bit by timing, though.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Styro, you don't like jet engines do you.... What did they ever do to you???
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)