Mayor Daley is using the waning days of his reign over Chicago to make one last push to move the O'Hare Airport expansion project towards completion, and he's enlisted freshman U.S. Senator Mark Kirk to help out. According to ABC-7, Kirk met with Chicago's aviation commissioner Rosemarie Andolino on Friday to get the scoop on the progress (or lack thereof) that's being made on runway expansion, which has been receiving pushback from the airport's major airlines, United and American. The two airlines do not want to provide the funds for an "ill-conceived" project. That's where Kirk comes in: more ›

• Ald. Fioretti (2nd) suggested turning East McCormick Place into a temporary casino to help while the city looks for a permanent casino site.
• Some details are out about a pair of upcoming debates for U.S. Senate and Governor.
• The city got the go-ahead from the courts to relocate graves in the ongoing O'Hare Expansion Project.

The O’Hare expansion project which began in 2001 was estimated to cost $6.6 billion. The Tribune reports that cost grew by at least $1 billion in 2004 dollars and by the time the project is completed, will balloon to $15 billion. As Mayor Daley plans to issue $1 billion in bonds to help the financially floundering expansion, some city aldermen lead by Finance Committee Chariman Edward Burke (14th Ward) aren’t exactly pleased. more ›

• More details in yesterday's Marquette Park quadruple murder.
• The City is issuing $1.2 billion in bonds to help pay for the O'Hare expansion project.
• There will be no "kayak czar" for Gov. Quinn.

Responding to a letter that United and American Airlines issued to the press airing their grievances with Aviation Department heads for hiking landing fees at O'Hare by nearly 40 percent, Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino shot back Wednesday, expressing disappointment with the airlines for taking their complaints public and claiming that the city isn't trying to pre-pay debt on the O'Hare expansion. Andolino said that the fees are to pay for runways that came on-line in 2008. Andolino told the Sun-Times: more ›

United and American Airlines are pushing back at Chicago's Department of Aviation over a proposed 38% increase in landing fees this year. The airlines and the city are in dispute over when to start paying down the debt issued to finance the project. The Tribune breaks it down: more ›

• Yesterday's death of bicyclist Jepson Livingston has been ruled a homicide; police allege Livingston was caught in an altercation between two cars and was struck when one driver tried to intentionally hit the other car.
• Details are emerging regarding the death - apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound - of 12-year-old Michael Maxey Jr. of Gary, Indiana who went missing Monday afternoon.
• United Airlines continues to battle the city over the O'Hare Expansion.

The battle between Bensenville and the City of Chicago, due to the O'Hare expansion project, is over. The Tribune reports that under a new agreement, the demolition of houses could begin as early as December; the village agreed to end the fight in exchange for $16 million plus an additional $20 million more from the City of Chicago to insulate homes and schools from noise pollution caused by the planes flying in and out of O'Hare. The city will also hire consultants to assist in the demolition and will partner with the village to aid Bensenville in economic development. The village's long fight against O'Hare took a turn this spring when Frank Soto won election as village president; Soto called the agreement, "a victory for Bensenville." more ›

We don't enjoy starting our mornings by having a downright hissy fit, but reading the Sun-Times story on Mayor Daley's planned speech in which he'll allegedly admit he made a mistake with the infamous parking meter deal is throwing us into a hulk-out rage. Know why? Well, for starters: more ›

• Michael Jackson's death has been ruled a homicide.
• It was a clout-y first day of the Fall 2009 term at the University of Illinois today.
• Bensenville's village president has conceded the fight against O'Hare expansion but is still expressing concern for effects on the city's maintenance.

This week, the city's attempt to expand O'Hare got another win as the FAA approved the city's request to spend $182 million in airline passenger ticket taxes on designs for the expansion. According to the Trib, the money will be used on, "...the design of two new runways, an extension to an existing runway and a planned western passenger terminal." The entire $15 billion project is still facing major hurdles, though, including a fight by the residents of Bensenville and the major airlines who don't see the spending in the current economy as justifiable. more ›

The group of community leaders in Bensenville fighting the O'Hare expansion has launched a new multimedia ad campaign, saying the plan will destroy the community without improving airport capacity. "We are not about 'Not In My Backyard.' We are about expanding the airport the right way," Bensenville Village President John Geils said at a news conference at Chicago City Hall. The city plans to spend $15 billion to modernize O'Hare by 2014 and has already acquired over 500 properties and a cemetery for a runway scheduled for 2011. more ›

The residents of Bensenville held a service at St. Johannes Cemetery on Sunday to honor those buried there as they prepare for the relocation of the cemetery due to the ongoing (and oft-delayed) O'Hare Expansion. The 159-year-old cemetery is slated to be relocated to make way for a new runway as part of the expansion. Around 300 people attended the ceremony during which several speakers had to pause due to noise from nearby planes. Joseph Karaganis, the attorney representing the church and cemetery, said, "At the heart of this controversy is the religious belief of the members of St. Johannes that the graves should not be disturbed until the Day of Resurrection." Approximately 1,300 people are buried at the cemetery. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the church's appeal in May but the case is still being heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals (in Washington, D.C.) and the DuPage County Circuit Court. more ›

DuPage Circuit Judge Kenneth Popejoy, who last week ruled in favor of the City of Chicago in their plans to expand O'Hare, has delayed the date that demolition can begin by 30 days so attorneys for Bensenville will have an opportunity to appeal. While Popejoy stands by his decision last week, he says, "Bensenville deserves the chance to appeal." Any delay issued after September 10, according to Popejoy, "will be up to the appellate court." more ›

On Thursday, DuPage Circuit Judge Kenneth Popejoy ruled in favor of the city of Chicago, allowing them to demolish roughly 500 homes in the Bensenville suburb to make way for the proposed O'Hare runway expansion. Popejoy said, "The plaintiffs' experts at most testified that there may be an issue of concern...Tentative questions and concerns do not constitute actual harm." The demolition was put on hold a year ago when Popejoy ordered, "an environmental study to guard against the release of any hazardous materials during demolition" after attorneys for the village claimed that such a demolition would release toxins into the air. more ›