As the third Chicago airport debate heats up again, Illinois residents should know that Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport has sufficient capacity to handle increased flights in the short term and a master plan that calls for an additional runway in the next decade.
Peotone Airport supporters continue to ignore Mitchell as a solution to the region’s airport capacity requirements, a posture that could eventually result in Illinois travelers and residents paying the $2 billion cost of building a new airport.
Mitchell International already is serving as “Chicago’s Third Airport.” Half a million northern Illinois air travelers use Mitchell each year. They find the 50-minute drive to Mitchell is far less congested than fighting traffic to O’Hare or Midway airports.
Mitchell, O’Hare and Midway provide sufficient capacity for the metroplex; a “fourth” Chicago airport at Peotone is unnecessary.
