Daley Hits up the Feds for More O'Hare Cash

By Kevin Robinson in News on Feb 12, 2009 4:00PM

Mayor Daley met with federal lawmakers Tuesday to try and convince them that Chicago should get $50 million dollars to help fund the O'Hare expansion. Daley is hoping that the funds will come from the economic stimulus plan that Congress is preparing to send to the president. "The job stimulus package is vital," Daley said at a news conference. "It's worse than a recession out there. It's a crisis." Without the funding, the mayor fears the project will fall behind its scheduled 2014 completion date. "Infrastructure is key," Daley said. "All these things will put blue- and white-collar people back to work." The project is currently behind schedule and about $130 million over budget.

Whether Daley's dream of completing the O'Hare expansion in time for the Olympics will happen, only time will tell, but funding for the project may not be the worst that he faces. In a column published in Sunday's Sun-Times, Carol Marin discussed federal interest in the project that doesn't involve Barack Obama's stimulus package. Two people involved in recent corruption scandals, former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly, who pleaded guilty to money laundering and federal tax charges, and John Harris, who was arrested the same day as Rod Blagojevich, are reportedly involved in an $8.5 million dollar airport contracting deal, "complete, allegedly, with kickbacks and laundered cash." On top of that, Kelly's indictment covers work done at the airport from 1998-2006. And John Harris? He was Daley's aviation chief, helping "usher in the O’Hare runway expansion project."

Where all this leaves Daley remains to be seen.

Photo by trippchicago