A fragile and intricate set of deals last month promise to keep Meigs Field (CGX) open until 2026, but the Illinois General Assembly could still reverse the terms with a simple majority vote anytime after Jan. 1, 2006. As part of the same round, Meigs supporter Illinois Gov. George Ryan and opponent Chicago Mayor Richard Daley framed a $6.6 billion plan to expand Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) by four runways and to fast-track a new regional airport at Peotone, Ill., a site and expense that some have already called a “white elephant.”
The deal coalesced when United Airlines of Elk Grove Township, Ill., and Dallas-based American Airlines agreed to fund the Meigs budget deficit, the level of which is disputed by the factions as between $150,000 and $4 million. Steve Whitney, president of both the Friends of Meigs Field and the Meigs Action Coalition, priced the subsidy at 20 cents per flight at Midway and O’Hare or less than 25 cents per passenger for the two airlines, saying it would relieve the Illinois general revenue fund from picking up the Meigs tab.
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