Only One Hurdle Left to Land Children's Heliport Plan

By Tim State in News on Jul 18, 2009 7:00PM

Children’s Memorial Hospital will be making the case next week in public meetings for their controversial heliport proposed for their new $1 billion facility in Streeterville. Hospital officials are insisting every precaution has been taken to guarantee safe operation, and Children’s CEO Patrick Magoon declared it, “one of the most sophisticated and safest pediatric heliports in the country.”

Although a group of neighborhood residents, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, are protesting the heliport as unsafe and noisy, and requested the public meetings before the Illinois Department of Transportation, the final authority to sign off on the project. The Chicago City Council and the FAA have already approved the project.

Children’s in Lincoln Park operates an average of 73 flights a year, for the past 20 years, when time is a critical factor in patient care. Without the heliport, the closest to the new location is at Stroger Hospital, too far in time-senstive situations. [S-T]