Make Way for Abraham Lincoln National Airport

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Apr 27, 2005 8:07PM

Yesterday the state submitted conceptual plans for a small commercial airport in Chicago's far south suburb of Peotone. This is the most formal step yet toward development of a 3rd Chicago-area airport. The proposed airport would be named the Abraham Lincoln National Airport, which seems sort of strange since we're pretty sure that airplanes weren't even invented in his lifetime.. but whatevs.. we're all a bunch of Abe lovahs around here.

We were a little disappointed when we read that Abe Linc Nat is only going to be a single runway with 5 gates, though. We're sure it will help some, but Chicagoist feels doubtful that this is really what we need to alleviate the traffic and delays at O'Hare.

There are still some regulatory hurdles with the FAA before construction could begin.. and those hurdles could take years to overcome. The plan for the new aiport is the brainchild of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., who thinks building an airport in Peotone is a good way to dump some dollars into poor southern suburbs.