posted
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).
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
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.
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
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).
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I was under the impression that the even-stupider proposal to expand that airport was going ahead.
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
No, they want to build a fixed link first. THEN expand the airport.
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
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!
Registered: Nov 1999
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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.
-------------------- Sparky:: Think! Question Authority, Authoritatively. “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” EMSparks
Shalamar: To save face, keep lower half shut.
Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
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.
-------------------- "The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
Registered: Mar 1999
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