[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6459-6460]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   PERSONAL EXPLANATION AND STATEMENT REGARDING SOUTH SUBURBAN THIRD 
                                AIRPORT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JERRY WELLER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2001

  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained in Springfield, 
Illinois on April 24, 2001 in order to testify on the merits of the 
proposed South Suburban Third Airport before the Illinois House 
Aviation Committee. As a result, I was unable to cast votes for Roll 
Call votes numbered 85 and 86. Had I been able to be present for votes, 
I would have voted nay on Roll Call vote number 85, the Motion to 
Instruct Conferees on H. Con. Res. 83, The Congressional Budget for 
Fiscal Year 2002. I would have voted yea on Roll Call vote number 86, 
on motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 428 as amended, concerning 
the participation of Taiwan in the World Health Organization.
  Mr. Speaker, I missed these votes because I believe that the 
development of the South Suburban Third Airport is vitally important to 
Illinois economy and the Nation's aviation infrastructure. I testified 
in support of developing the proposed South Suburban Airport and 
Governor Ryan's appropriation request of $15 million for land 
acquisition. If the State of Illinois is to remain economically 
competitive, the air capacity must be increased. Governor George Ryan's 
decision to move forward with land acquisition shows bold leadership to 
achieve both.
  Seventeen years ago, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the 
States of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and the City of Chicago to 
evaluate the region's future aviation needs and to determine possible 
solutions. The Chicago Area Capacity Study was formed by Illinois, 
Indiana, Wisconsin, and Chicago to look for a new site. That study 
concluded in 1988 that Chicago needed a supplemental airport to relieve 
overcrowding at O'Hare and Midway. Subsequent studies found there was a 
need for additional capacity by the year 2000, and that the 
supplemental capacity should be located at a new South Suburban 
Airport.
  As we now know, the results of that study accurately foretold the 
future. In 2000, Chicago hit aviation gridlock as the runways, airspace 
and ground transportation network near the airports reached capacity. 
Today, peak travel times to and from O'Hare and Downtown often exceed 
one hour. Remote parking access to or from the terminals can often take 
35 to 45 minutes.
  The gridlock at O'Hare and Midway not only affects Chicago and its 
suburbs, but the entire state and nation. When air capacity is limited, 
airlines focus on the most profitable routes (international route) and 
ignore less lucrative business (short-range domestic routes). As we 
have seen, the process of dumping short lower-profit flights in favor 
of long, higher profit ones has already begun at O'Hare. In the past 
two years, O'Hare eliminated service to 13 Midwestern markets, but 
added service to more than 20 foreign cities. This shift has hurt the 
downstate Illinois economy and limited transportation options for its 
residents.
  Chicago's capacity problems are well-documented. Numerous studies, 
including ones by the USDOT, the FAA, IDOT and the City of Chicago, 
conclude that Chicago needs new runways. The question is where.
  The Greater Rockford Airport was once considered a possible third 
airport site. While Rockford is very important to the northern Illinois 
area, the Illinois Department of Transportation eliminated it as a 
third airport site in the 1988 study for the following reasons: It was 
deemed to be too far--97 miles--from the Chicago Business District. 
Rockford is 50 miles past Elgin, which is at the edge of the Chicago 
urbanized area. The Peotone site abuts the edge of suburbia and is 35 
miles from Downtown Chicago. The Rockford market area for obtaining 
origin and destination passengers was too small for a major commercial 
airport. In comparsion, the Peotone site has 2.5 million people living 
within a 45 minutes drive. According to the latest census data, Will 
County is one of the fastest growing areas in Illinois. Two rivers 
border the Greater Rockford Airport, thus hampering any growth 
possibilities for longer runways. Additionally, the expanded airport 
boundaries and accompanying noise contours would severely impact many 
Rockford residents.
  Gary Indiana Municipal Airport also has been considered. However, 
Gary has very little room to grow. Expanding Gary to a size comparable 
to the Peotone site would require relocating the Indiana Tollway, the 
Calumet River, 47 miles of railroads, 1,000 acres of wetlands, several 
toxic landfills, and about

[[Page 6460]]

24,000 residents. The $20 billion cost of expanding Gary would make it 
virtually impossible for an airline to charge reasonable fares, 
whereas, the cost of the Peotone site would result in ticket prices 
comparable to O'Hare.
  The Proposed South Suburban Airport would be safer due to its 
parallel-runway design and ability for future growth. Further, the 
South Suburban Airport is less expensive than other options. The cost 
of an inaugural South Suburban Airport is approximately $560 million, 
compared to $1.5 billion for building one runway at O'Hare. The third 
airport can also be built sooner than adding an additional runway at 
O'Hare. The airport can be operational in 4 to 5 years, but it would 
take 8 to 15 years to design and build an additional runway at O'Hare. 
The South Suburban Airport would be cleaner than the existing airports 
as it would be sufficient in size to absorb noise and air pollution. It 
has road and rail access, but less ground congestion.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to clarify why I missed 
Roll Call Votes on April 24, 2001 and to further explain the importance 
of the proposed South Suburban Airport.

                          ____________________