O’Hare, Midway and other airports are already taking on the cargo-handling Peotone’s backers want. The state Senate should reject a proposal promoting a plan that should be grounded.
Decades ago, the idea of buying up land for a Peotone airport that would be available should O’Hare Airport hit its capacity seemed like a fore-sighted government move.
But O’Hare has expanded, and the need for a Peotone airport in Will County is not at all clear. The state Senate should not support a bill sponsored by state Rep. Will Davis, D-Homewood, that would require the Illinois Department of Transportation to pursue proposals within six months from developers interested in building a Peotone cargo airport.
The bill, which essentially would keep alive plans for the airport, already has passed in the House. It would promote a plan that good public policy dictates should be grounded.Editorials
At first, Peotone was envisioned as a sprawling passenger airport that could meet all of the region’s needs and preserve Chicago’s standing as a major aviation hub. But now that the upgraded O’Hare and Midway airports appear able to carry the load, backers of the Peotone airport instead envision building a cargo-handling airport on the site, which sprawls over more than 4,500 acres. The state has spent nearly $100 million buying up the land, even as no passenger airlines have said they support the airport proposal.
