A faction of suburban leaders believe that a new, limited-use runway at O`Hare International Airport could be a better deal for noise-weary suburbanites than a proposed ban on new runways at the airport, state sources reported Friday.
The group contends that an offer by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to forgo new O`Hare strips in return for suburban support of Daley`s proposed Lake Calumet airport fails to offer an ironclad guarantee of noise reduction at O`Hare, the sources said.
Most O`Hare-area political leaders strongly oppose any new runways at O`Hare, however, and they are expected to seriously consider Daley`s proposal this weekend as they try to reach an agreement with the mayor.
The pro-runway group, apparently with the blessing of Gov. Jim Edgar, plans to argue during the weekend meetings that Daley`s ban would be guaranteed only if a Lake Calumet airport is built, sources said.
Though critics of the mayor`s site concede it may be chosen by a bistate selection committee, they believe that federal regulators ultimately will block construction because of environmental problems.
At the same time, the pro-runway suburbanites believe that a ban on O`Hare expansion would do little to reduce the noise plaguing surrounding communities because it would not limit the number of flights or prevent an increase in air traffic, sources said.
They are expected to try to sway runway foes with the argument that O`Hare`s capacity could grow with advances in radar technology.
A list of rigidly enforced noise controls-capping the number of takeoffs and landings at O`Hare, accelerating the use of modern aircraft and closing certain runways during night hours-is a more acceptable tradeoff for Lake Calumet than a runway ban, said one member of the pro-runway faction who asked not to be identified.
”If a new runway would benefit safety and was used only to reduce delays, and it was combined with all the other restrictions, then I could be for it,” he said. ”I think it would be a better deal for the suburbs.”
The pro-runway faction will argue that suburbanites should take advantage of Edgar`s position as a Republican governor, contending that a future Democratic chief executive would be less willing to work for noise control at O`Hare, sources said. Republicans typically are more sympathetic to suburban issues because the suburbs are their political stronghold.
But John Geils, village president of Bensenville and head of the anti-noise Suburban O`Hare Commission, said his group hasn`t budged.
”We`re where we`ve always been, and that`s no runways at O`Hare field,” Geils said. ”I don`t see any change in the offing. We are firm in our position.”
Of Daley`s offer to ban runways in exchange for Lake Calumet support, Geils said, ”We don`t have an accord on anything yet.”
He declined to comment further ”until we can iron out all the particulars.”
Suburban officials and Edgar representatives nearly accepted Daley`s offer, presented Thursday at a meeting in Addison, sources said. But aides to the governor decided to weigh the benefits of allowing a new runway at O`Hare if noise restrictions were part of the deal.
Rather than taking the lead in a push for a new runway, Edgar hopes the opposing suburban factions can reach a compromise that he can endorse, state sources said.
The governor remains hamstrung by a 1990 campaign pledge made in front of a Bensenville elementary school, where he declared: ”No new runways. That`s it.”
Edgar ”will not back off his pledge unless somebody releases him,” said one suburban leader.
But release from his vow would be welcomed by the governor, who has been under pressure from Chicago and suburban business leaders who want a new O`Hare runway, sources said.
United Airlines, O`Hare`s largest carrier, also has pushed for a new runway. United is a law client of former Gov. James Thompson`s, and the 14-year Illinois chief executive has participated in the talks, sources said.
The bistate site selection committee is scheduled to meet Monday, but it is not known whether the panel will make a decision then.
Meanwhile, Illinois Transportation Secretary Kirk Brown said Friday that the state`s analysis of the city`s financing plan for Lake Calumet was
”virtually complete.”
At one point, state experts questioned how the city would pay for $2 billion to $4 billion of Lake Calumet`s $10.8 billion construction cost. Brown declined to reveal the current figure, but said the financing gap ”has been reduced substantially.”
State officials previously concluded that the Lake Calumet site is buildable, and Brown`s statement seemed to indicate that the state now believes it also is financially feasible.
