Seven years after former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. staged a symbolic “groundbreaking” for the so-called “third airport,” the state appears to have delivered funds to move forward with the project.
“This is enormous,” said state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights. “The state of Illinois has been considering an airport on this property for three decades. This is the first time funding for improvements has been approved and set aside.”
The state has spent about $97 million since 2002 acquiring nearly 4,500 acres for the proposed airport. Supporters have said the facility would be a cargo hub for warehouse and logistics operations, creating jobs and spurring economic growth in the south suburbs…Please click here to read Ted Slowik’s column in the Tribune/Daily Southtown. A related story, Pritzker’s Budget Funds Roadwork For South Suburban Airport, is in the Patch.