Online Petition Surfaces Opposing City's Land Grab Around Midway

Image Credit: P.B.

An online petition has formed in opposition to the City's Wednesday approval to buy four properties near Midway Airport to expand "runway protection zones."

The city said the purchase of the properties is necessary to avoid events like the Southwest Airlines flight that overran a runway in 2005, killing a child.

The petition reads:

"The Airport and surrounding neighborhood has a rich history as the unique one-square-mile footprint of Midway Airport is due to its connection to the Chicago Board of Education. Under the Land Ordinance of 1785, land was divided into townships.
"Each township included a one-square-mile (640 acre) section devoted to education. In most instances, one-room school houses were located on this land, the balance of which was farmed to provide funds for the operation of the school. As township school districts consolidated, much of this excess land was typically sold for other purposes...

"Alderman Marty Quinn has greatly failed our neighborhood as did the previous Alderman, Frank Olivo. They have neglected to encourage thriving businesses and attribute to economic growth, foster affordable public housing during a dire time, and facilitate long-overdue public transit to effectively commute north to south.

"The purchase of certain parcels of land would demolish undesignated historical landmarks, force out a large volume of residents and eliminate businesses integral to the Clearing neighborhood of Chicago."

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By Chuck Sudo in News on November 4, 2011 10:05 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

thomas Hill

When the southwest airplane crashed through the fence, it was before they installed the EMAS (Engineered materials arrestor system), which is all that is needed to avoid an aircraft going through the fence again. Also, the buildings that they want to tear down (central drugs, mobile, and the restaurant) are not in direct line of any of the runways. The last building they want to tear down (continental sales) is too far from the end of the runway to be a problem.

twocee

I don't know the veracity of the petition's claims (how many residents it would displace, the value of the buildings, etc). But I do wonder if this "buffer zone" is really necessary. How many planes have gone off the runways at Midway in the history of the airport? Yes, the Southwest accident was tragic, but Midway has landed hundreds of thousands of planes since then without incident. It seems like this is a waste of tax money, no matter if it's the city or state footing the bill.

ChicagoD

Yeah, but apparently there is an ongoing issue with the clearance over one of the buildings as well. They supposedly lose some of the runway because of the angle they have to use to get over the building. If it really is a safety issue they ought to do it. I don't know why else they would bother.

As for the petition . . . the area *did* get an L built out to it. I mean, that's kind of a big deal.

twocee

I'm not necessarily thinking there are nefarious reasons behind this. But it seems there are other (cheaper) ways to deal with this.

http://articles.chicagotribune...

http://www.lipinski.house.gov/...§iontree=6,49&itemid=1115

It's still not clear to me whether or not buying these properties to tear down is necessary, as these articles and others seem to imply that the collapsible concrete runways are all the FAA is requiring to bring Midway up to modern safety compliance.

According to Wikipedia, Midway has had 21 accidents in its history. 9 of these accidents led to airplanes skidding off of runways and onto the street and/or into houses in the neighborhood. The last one was the Southwest flight, the last one before that was in 1976 (there were 2 that year -- bad year).

9 accidents in 70+ years is a pretty good record and does not jibe with how unsafe they are trying to make this situation sound.

BlueFairlane

Never mind ... I see what they're doing.

ChicagoD

Is it B.S.? I really have no idea. Honestly, I just figured that since this is not the Gold Coast, the southeast side, or Lincoln Park, nobody would bother with an illegitimate land grab.

BlueFairlane

Actually, a quick glance at the specific sites in question suggests the action itself isn't BS. I can see cause for specific concern. (And I disagree with twocee's suggestion that 9 planes in the street in 70 years is a good record. By FAA standards, I think that's actually kind of bad.) I think the sudden interest and current justification for it is BS, but I do think there's something of an actual safety issue here.

BlueFairlane

Any idea where this building is and how tall it is? Looking at my handy-dandy Google Earth, I can 't find anything that looks like it might be a candidate.

chicagoist_tips

Another thing to consider: that overrun of the runway happened six years ago and the city is using it as the example for buying the land. As with much of the Emanuel administration, the actions bear watching. - Chuck