South Suburban Airport 'Ties Everything Together', Sen. Hastings Says

PEOTONE, IL — A bill that would advance plans for a hotly debated project to bring an airport to Chicago’s South Suburban area is headed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk. But even after the legislation passed the Illinois General Assembly in May, one of the bill’s sponsors says he won’t speculate on what happens next.

The bill, which passed the General Assembly in May after successfully moving through the Senate, is now awaiting the governor’s signature; a move that would require the Illinois Department of Transportation to take steps toward developing the property in Peotone.

The law would require IDOT to enter into public-private agreements and to establish a prequalification process for vendors to participate in the development, financing, construction, management, and operation of the new airport within six months, the bill states.

Now that the bill, which was sponsored by three Illinois state senators, including Michael Hastings (D-Frankfort), has passed the General Assembly, lawmakers have 30 days to get the bill to Pritzker, who then has an additional 60 days to take action. Although he believes the regional airport could be a big economic boost to the region along with providing another source for commercial and cargo air travel, Hastings told Patch on Friday he doesn’t have a good sense of which way the governor will move.

The project has been discussed for decades with proponents like Hastings saying the airport would not conflict with bigger airports such as O’Hare International Airport and Midway, along with regional operations in Rockford and the Quad Cities. However, opponents of the project argue that building an airport on the property north of Peotone would have a “devastating” impact on the region’s prairie grasses that grow in the area as well as on a herd of bison, officials said.

Opponents also claim that adding an airport to the area would bring unwanted traffic congestion as well as other impacts on the local farmland where the proposed airport would be built. However, Hastings said Friday that despite the debate, he is hopeful that the process can move forward with Pritzker’s signature — in the name of progress for a growing South Suburban region.

“For people who feel that the South Suburban Airport is a threat to Midway, is a threat to O’Hare, would complete with Rockford, would compete with the Quad Cities, I just think we’re just in a very, very unique geographic situation with an immense amount of growth compared to other regions of the state,” Hastings told Patch on Friday.

Hastings, who represents constituents in both Will and Cook County, said that considering other transportation options throughout the region between the interstate systems, trains, and the Intermodal Transportation Center in Joliet, adding a regional airport only makes sense. He said the airport would be a “natural complement” to other transportation hubs.

He said a new airport “ties everything together” and believes that the job creation and investment into the Southland region would be substantial, Hastings told Patch.

The proposed airport has been a topic of debate for years after Bult Field, a privately owned airport was purchased by IDOT in 2014. More land around the airport was purchased after that with the idea that a suburban airport could be developed, with the state spending nearly $100 million to purchase the land alone.

But it wasn’t until this year when the bill to push the project forward was introduced in the House of Representatives and State Senate before moving on to the governor’s office.

The bill, which was also sponsored by Sens. Napoleon Harris III and Patrick Joyce, doesn’t devote any state funding to the project, but allows the wheels of progress to begin to turn, Hastings said. While Hastings can’t pinpoint who may help to push for the development of the property but said there is a “unique interest” in the project — if Pritzker allows the plan to move forward.

Other news outlets, including WTTW, have reported that Pritzker has expressed hesitation with the project until cargo companies express their intent to actually use the airport if it is built.

“What you don’t want is, if you build it, they will come,” Pritzker said previously, according to the report. “Just building the thing and hoping that people will show up to essentially pay for the airport having been built.”

Yet, Hastings said he would have never helped introduce legislation — or even supported it — if he felt like the project would lead to a dead end. Whether that means cargo companies coming forward or regional carriers committing to fly in and out of the South Suburban Airport, Hastings believes it provides a unique opportunity for the region.

He compares the project to Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., which has been providing international travel for years. The airport allows local residents to fly in and out of the city without having to travel to bigger airports such as Detroit and Chicago.

Like the south suburbs, the Grand Rapids region has continued to develop and grow and has supported having the airport there. Similarly, Hastings believes the addition of an airport in the South Suburban region could only be a positive for local residents and the region’s economy as well.

Hastings points to the fact that Target and Solo Cup will add warehouses along the I-57 corridor in addition to the four Amazon regional distribution centers that already exist. He says that adding an airport to the mix only will help to drive the local economy, while also providing residents with an alternative to driving farther away to fly to certain destinations.

He says as a lawmaker who represents the region, he and others like Harris have to do what they can to help prepare the South Suburbs for natural growth, which he said the additional airport would do while helping generate “a lot of success” for the region.

But now, it’s up to Pritzker whether the project will move forward, which Hastings refuses to speculate what could happen.

“I’ve served with three different governors, and they’re going to make their mind up whether they’re going to support it or they’re not going to support it,” Hastings told Patch on Friday. “ I just hope that Governor Pritzker supports it. The south suburbs, just in terms of density, is a big area and he knows it’s growing and everyone else knows it’s growing. I think this is a great opportunity for us.”

He added: "I think (the airport) will be big enough, but it won't be a hassle. I just think it would be a good thing."