They don't agree on much, but proponents and opponents of the controversial proposal for an airport in Peotone say the $100 million set aside for the project in the state's just-signed capital bill is "huge."
For airport supporters, the money signals that Gov. Pat Quinn is serious about acquiring the remaining 2,000 acres needed in southern Will County to build a third major airport for the Chicago region. No sooner had the governor signed the $31 billion capital spending bill than state officials began fielding calls from landowners near Peotone seeking to cash in, said Susan Shea, director of aeronautics for the Illinois Department of Transportation.
"I tell them that I've already got appraisers ready and out looking at properties," Shea said. "All of a sudden, people are starting to realize that this is going to happen." For critics, some of whom have battled the airport plan for decades, the money deals a critical blow by clearing away one of the last major obstacles for development. And with the pains of a troubled economy hanging over the rural farming region, some opponents worry landowners might be tempted to sell while an offer is on the table.
They don't agree on much, but proponents and opponents of the controversial proposal for an airport in Peotone say the $100 million set aside for the project in the state's just-signed capital bill is "huge." For airport supporters, the money signals that Gov.
Pat Quinn is serious about acquiring the remaining 2,000 acres needed in southern Will County to build a third major airport for the Chicago region. No sooner had the governor signed the $31 billion capital spending bill than state officials began fielding calls from landowners near Peotone seeking to cash in, said Susan Shea, director of aeronautics for the Illinois Department of Transportation.
"I tell them that I've already got appraisers ready and out looking at properties," Shea said. "All of a sudden, people are starting to realize that this is going to happen." For critics, some of whom have battled the airport plan for decades, the money deals a critical blow by clearing away one of the last major obstacles for development. And with the pains of a troubled economy hanging over the rural farming region, some opponents worry landowners might be tempted to sell while an offer is on the table.
It's huge, it's just devastating news," said Peotone-area resident George Ochsenfeld, president of STAND (Shut This Airport Nightmare Down). "But we're going to continue to fight. There's a strong emotional attachment to the area because you have people who've been here for generations."
The $100 million in new money will be combined with $10.5 million left over from previous spending bills, Shea said. And though the state has not set a timetable for completing the purchases -- the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to give its final approval for the Peotone project -- Shea is confident the state now has the money it needs to buy the remaining land.
Sensing the battle may soon be lost, members of STAND are meeting with attorneys to discuss what legal options residents have in the fight against eminent domain -- the government's taking of private land. At issue is whether the state even has the power of eminent domain for the Peotone airport. Shea said the state was given that authority in 2003 when the O'Hare Modernization Act was signed into law. It included provisions to begin purchasing land in an area suitable for airport construction over the next 10 to 20 years.
A number of landowners have said the state has used the threat of eminent domain to encourage them to sell. But, Shea said, all the land sales to this point have been voluntary. Bill Ryan, an attorney representing several landowners, challenges that notion, claiming the reason the state has not invoked eminent domain is that it doesn't yet have the authority to use it. "Clearly land can be acquired for public airports, but the questions are, what land? How much land?"