GOOD NEW!!!!!!

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=28677

O'Hare expansion clears legal hurdle

...In a decision released midday Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said expansion foes have no legal standing to object to a $29-million grant for the project from the Federal Aviation Administration.

:banana:

I think I'd rather have Gary be in another state. :haha:

In fact, I'm not sure it is far enough away. That is why I propose that we make Gary part of Michigan for that extra layer of comfort.

You would think Mayor Craig Johnson, who has a thicker Chicago accent than Daley.... would be for..

Chicago close to taking first Elk Grove site
City says it's working on purchase, but mayor fighting it
By Ames Boykin | Daily Herald StaffContact writerPublished: 3/27/2008 12:22 Rosemarie Andolino, executive director of the O'Hare Modernization Program, said the city has been working with the property owner, Elk Grove Village-based Arthur J. Rogers & Co., and is eyeing only the property needed for the lighting. The single-story office building at 1651-57 Carmen Drive will be spared.

"We've been working together. That's the city's approach to acquiring property," Andolino said.
But Johnson said Chicago is violating a property owner's rights.
"It should turn our stomach to hear another municipality is taking property from this municipality," Johnson said.
An official with Arthur J. Rogers didn't return phone calls Wednesday.
Johnson said he awaits Chicago's permit request at village hall for the lighting, suggesting a possible wrinkle.
"Last time I looked, we didn't have anything in our laws allowing landing lights," Johnson said.
Andolino, however, said the state law clearing the way for the expansion project lets Chicago proceed with its plans without local permits.

Chicago has acquired the 126 acres it needed in Des Plaines for the project. This would be the first property of the 14.8 acres it needs to acquire in Elk Grove Village. In Bensenville, more than 540 homes and businesses have been acquired.

Work at O'Hare is on schedule, Andolino said. "We're going to be landing planes on that runway in 238 days from today," she said. "When there were a lot of naysayers … it's done."
Elk Grove Village and Bensenville have led the suburban fight against Chicago's plans, using lawsuits to try to stop new runways.
Elk Grove Village trustees on Tuesday night showed no signs of abandoning that cause, voting to add another $500,000 to spend on the litigation tied to its battle.

^ So this is how China is able to to build a nationwide highway system at pennies on the dollar...

$500,000 more for the litigation fund? And how many millions have they spent so far? That's like each resident of Elk Grove paying an outrageous tax to use a modernized airport thanks to a hotheaded mayor. They need to dump his ass out next election.

To bad he has such a common name - I think he should be added to a permanent "Do Not Fly" list for O'Hare ...

Things are starting to change there, too. As urban residents get more property rights, they're starting to get the hang of NIMBYism and the government, in order to keep the people from organizing, is trying to accomodate at least some of them because if it doesn't the newly property-owning classes might decide to organize into real opposition which would be a disaster on several fronts. [EDIT: From the PRC government's standpoint]

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=28819

City preparing to finish design of O'Hare expansion
By: Paul Merrion April 02, 2008

With the first new runway of the O’Hare Modernization Program nearing completion, Chicago is gearing up to finish designing how the rest of the airport expansion will look.

The major airlines at O’Hare have yet to agree to pay for the second and much larger phase of the project, but the city is seeking approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to use $200 million in future ticket-tax collections for detailed design and engineering drawings of another new runway, a new western terminal and access point, plus other improvements.

The wets terminal is supposed to be for domestics not named United/American correct? I wonder with it not being a hub terminal if we are really going to see anything that spectacular. I am anticipating something quality yet unspectacular which wouldn't be the end of the world. I am a bit surprised American wouldn't want to consider moving to a new suave terminal to one up United's. Maybe they feel it would be too far away from the international terminal and their code share partners to be make the move.

I thought the Western Terminal was going to be used for international flights and including gates for the A380 and a new Terminal 4 was going to be built for the non-hub carriers. Who knows with the completion date 5-8 years out.

My impression was that the long range plan was that more international gates would be T4 and be right next to T5 which was the original location of the World Gateway program.

Of course with alliances international airlines could also want to dock at a a huge west terminal 7 with for easy connection with other non American/United domestic partners. Time will tell I guess.

e.g. the pleasant but thoroughly underwhelming Midway Airport.

O'Hare is looking better and better every time I fly out of it. They've added nice glass fronts, LCD screens toting the city's highlights at all the revamped escalators, etc. Even the baggage claim is getting a much needed face lift. It all looks pretty nice and I hope the add on will keep this new feel. I would say though, they could take a few design que's from Denver International, BEAUTIFUL airport.

DIA is not so beautiful when you are trapped in it for 3 days...

underwhelming? yeah but its easy, fast and looks good for an airport(for all I care about how airports look. I want in/out fast and easy and I guess as a second thought looks good and Midway does all that)

Yeah, my first choice is always Southwest if they fly to my chosen destination, Midway is a much more pleasant experience overall than O'hare. But there's nothing the least bit awe-inspiring, or even particularly architecturally interesting, about the terminal and concourses. Almost all buildings of O'hare have some aesthetic/architectural merit; though much of the tasty SOM-60s-modernism of Terminals 2 and 3 is now gone, the replacements are pretty appealing overall. Given O'hare is the "flagship", or primary world gateway to Chicago, it makes sense to give it a little more oomph in the wow department. Midway is a Low Cost Airport for Low Cost Carriers.

^ Yeah, I miss the old O'Hare buildings. By the way, those were a CF Murphy job, although most of the people working at Murphy had jumped ship from SOM anyway.

I think Midway serves its purpose, but from a design standpoint, it is a missed opportunity. I am hoping we see much better from the O'Hare expansion.

Oh my mistake, you're right about CF Murphy on that one. I really enjoyed that aesthetic, though they were looking decidedly aged and dusty by the time renovation started. Similar issue to the downtown subway stations, where the aesthetic is actually solid and attractive but the ravages of decades of sub-par maintenance hide the potential under a layer of grime. End result being the notion of "preservation", which in these instances would probably be the cheaper option consisting mostly of cleanup(<-- key point), is laughed off because "why would you want to save these crummy things?" At least the replacement finishes at O'hare have been pretty tasteful, and maintain a certain sense of updated Modernism.

And Jahn's United Terminal really doesn't need too much comment :) though Goldberger's NYT commentary is decent:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...pagewanted=all

So the new express lines that are running from O'Hare to B37, they are using the existing blue lines? Are they adding any? Is that why northbound on the Kennedy is down to one lane every night? What about Midway, are they building express lines there as well? This seems like a pretty important project, but there seems to be little information about it.