State pays hefty price for condemning airport land

A 13-year-old battle came to an end this month, as Willis and Vivian Brahmstaedt of Beecher turned over 75 acres of farmland to the state for its South Suburban Airport.

It was the first land acquisition case for the airport that went to a jury trial and the latest of the 110 parcels acquired within the inaugural footprint for the future airport — the plans for which have yet to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“It’s been a long road for the Brahmstaedts — 13 years of uncertainty,” said their attorney Stephen Viz, who has represented the family since 2002 when the Illinois Department of Transportation first offered his clients $450,000 for their farmland…Please click here to read Susan DeMar Lafferty’s story in the Tribune/Daily Southtown.