The O'Hare expansion is not a matter of the suburbs vs. the city, as has been suggested, though that is certainly a fight that we'd be willing to take on any day. At its core, this is an issue of misconceptions and mistakes at best, and lies and outright idiocy at worst. In studies by some of the nation's top independent aviation experts, the proposed plan has been called both flawed and disastrous. A former administrator of the FAA has stated that not only will the proposed renovation fail to achieve any of the benefits it promises; it will also fail to meet safety standards.

What this comes down to is the fact that city officials refuse to recognize that while O'Hare can expand and renovate all it wants, they will never be able to expand the airspace. Regardless of how many runways O'Hare has, or in what manner the runways are positioned, (might I suggest dollar signs, to remind everyone of the great waste of money?) there will always be a limit as to the amount of airspace over the city, which already stands as the most congested space in the nation.

Furthermore, the cities that surround the airport stand to lose the most in this expansion. The new configuration of the runways will point runways directly at the heart of Elk Grove Village, putting the safety of residents in great danger. The construction of a ring road, connecting I-90 and I-294, will take place in the heart of the Elk Grove business district, causing the loss of 500 businesses, which bring in about 85 cents of every tax dollar in Elk Grove Village. Bensenville will also be directly affected, losing about 500 homes.

The economics of the plan are highly questionable. When the subject was first broached, it was suggested that the total cost would be in the area of $6 billion. The number has since soared to nearly $15 billion. By the time it's over, the project could cost twice that. Furthermore, how are smaller airlines going to continue to service O'Hare if the airport is forced to raise airline fees by as much as 400%? The expansion plan could actually lose money if a significant number of these airlines opted not to service O'Hare anymore, a likely result of the rate hike.

At its most basic, the issue with O'Hare is actually quite simple. Instead of allowing another location to serve travelers, the city of Chicago has chosen to overload their already overloaded airport. This doesn't need to be a scenario to fear, this third airport. No one will believe that Chicago is not a major, nationally important city if it needs to rely on its suburbs for help. In fact, we think Chicago is the greatest city in the world, that's why we live so close, and visit so often. We even tell people, when we're on vacation, that we're from Chicago.

How can an airport, initially designed to handle 700,000 flights, already handling 900,000 flights, be expected to handle 1.6 million flights? Quite simply, without a massive reconstruction, it can't. The answer is simple: construct an airport in nearby Peotone, only 40 miles from downtown, to handle to spillover. It seems as though the city cannot allow anyone to think that it needs the suburbs to continue prospering. In fact, just like any equal partnership, it does. This is not a question of whose is bigger, Chicago, but a question of how can we make what we already have better.

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