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CNN Live At Daybreak
Plans to Expand O'Hare Airport Stir Up Controversy
Aired July 27, 2001 - 08:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Battle lines are being drawn in a fight over plans to expand Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Now, on one side, supporters say it will ease travel congestion but area residents are saying it will claim more than 550 homes, an entire neighborhood to be bulldozed.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: And for more on this now, we are joined by one of the residents of that neighborhood. Bill Muzyka who lives right there and whose home is in jeopardy. And also, we are joined by John Harris, the lead manager on the project to expand O'Hare Airport.
Good morning, gentlemen, thank you both for being here. Bill, I'd like to start with you if I could. Could you tell...
BILL MUZYKA, O'HARE AREA RESIDENT: Good morning.
MCEDWARDS: Good morning. Tell us how this proposed expansion would affect you?
MUZYKA: Well, it would move us out of our home and it would probably make it difficult for me to find another place comparable to what I've got.
MCEDWARDS: How long have you been in that neighborhood, Bill? Tell us a little more about it.
MUZYKA: Personally, I've been in the neighborhood since about '61. But the house has been in the family since 1947.
MCEDWARDS: And all those houses in your neighborhood slated to be knocked down?
MUZYKA: Yes.
MCEDWARDS: OK. John, you've heard from the residents. I know this isn't the first time you've heard this, their concerns about their homes and their families. Is it necessary to expand the airport in this way?
JOHN HARRIS, O'HARE EXPANSION MANAGER: Good morning, Colleen. Yes,
Mayor Daley has responded to a congressional call for action. The mayor has put forward a plan that'll help to ease delay and congestion not only at O'Hare but at the entire nation's airport system.
MCEDWARDS: Any alternative though, John?
HARRIS: Well, we need to modernize O'Hare to make it more efficient because it is the nation's hub. It serves the nation's two largest carriers and provides the greatest choice, the greatest service and the greatest frequency to all destinations around the country. The plan for the improvement of O'Hare would realign several runways and add one additional runway.
MCEDWARDS: Bill, what would you like to see them do? I mean you know that airport congestion is a problem but people can understand how you feel about your home. What kind of alternatives would you propose?
MUZYKA: Well, Peotone is in the works, I believe. They've been buying land there.
MCEDWARDS: And just to clarify, Peotone is a town about -- just 40 miles south of Chicago.
MUZYKA: About 35 miles south of Chicago.
MCEDWARDS: And there's been talk about putting a portion of the expansion there?
MUZYKA: Yes, ma'am. Why do you favor that?
MUZYKA: Well, O'Hare fields have right now -- has reached capacity. And in order for them to maintain or try to be the hub, they're going to have to take -- and take land away from everybody around here. They're going to have to put a ring road around, which the state would probably have to do for the western entrance to the airport. So, it's going to be more than 500 homes that are going to have to be demolished. So...
MCEDWARDS: But Bill, I guess some people might say this is a pretty tough issue because if the airport goes ahead -- let's just say a different plan is made. Let's say in Peotone, for example. Then the problem becomes their problem. Not your problem anymore but it's somebody else's. Pretty tough, isn't it?
MUZYKA: No, I don't think so because O'Hare field's going to be here no matter what. It's just -- what you want to do is disperse some of the flights in and out and take away from the congestion that you have. If you can split up some of the -- and divvy up the work and the money involved over here, I think the whole state will benefit.
MCEDWARDS: OK, John Harris, can you tell us a little bit more about the expansion plan as it stands now? Do you really believe that this plan will solve the congestion problems at O'Hare or are more expansions going to be necessary fairly soon? HARRIS: No, this is a comprehensive plan that takes us well beyond 2030, well into the 21st Century. The problem of delay at O'Hare can only be solved at O'Hare. O'Hare's problem is that the runway configuration is based on 1950s and 1960s planning design standards. In the new age of jets and the technology that's available to us today, we need to reconfigure the airfield to take full advantage of that and optimize O'Hare's efficiency and capacity.
MCEDWARDS: John Harris, will people be fairly compensated for their homes in this neighborhood?
HARRIS: Yes, everybody that would be impacted -- and let me remind your viewers that we've tried to minimize the impact in this proposal. Other airports around the country that are undertaking runway projects have been involved in the acquisition of thousands of homes, building runways in bays and other significant impacts on the surrounding community and the environment.
MCEDWARDS: OK.
HARRIS: We think our proposal minimizes the impacts. We will be following the Uniform Relocation Act, making sure that all homeowners and displaced people receive fair compensation not only for their property but a generous stipend for their relocation expenses.
MCEDWARDS: And Bill, what do you think of that?
MUZYKA: If it goes that way, it would be OK. But I've talked to people that have been relocated and they have not really been compensated to where they felt that they got equal money for the land that they owned.
MCEDWARDS: OK, understood. Gentlemen, we're going to leave it there. Bill Muzyka, John Harris, thank you both for your time this morning, appreciate it.
HARRIS: Thank you, Colleen.
MUZYKA: Thank you, Colleen.
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