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The most Chicago thing ever happened 20 years ago — an airport was bulldozed overnight
When the sun came up over Chicago on March 31, 2003, it shone down on six large Xs that were bulldozed overnight into the runway of a small downtown airport. (www.wbez.org) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Daley should have been thrown in jail for his actions.
My IL Air National Guard unit had just deployed for Iraqi Freedom and one of my friends had just gotten the job of airport manager at Meigs right before we left. He was to start work upon our return. The way he found out that he had no job waiting after all was when we saw it on CNN. Talk about a morale crusher. Needless to say, he was bummed for the duration of our deployment.
Illinois legislature Republicans didn't want the airport for two reasons. One, keep Democrats from flying in for convection. Two, the give back to their developers' contribution.
Dick Daley was a Dem.
And a chip off his old dad's block. Both authoritarian mayors. But, I will say that they both managed to crime to a much lower level. And I'm not a Dem but will give credit where credit is due.
I flew into Meigs several times a month, mostly in the twilight or night time hours. I loved the convenience of it being so close to down town. I loved it when the winds favored landing to the North, it was like practicing for a Carrier landing... it was great fun. When landing there, I generally spent the night down town, paid my tiedown and always bought about 10 gals of 100 octane. When Daley tore it up, many aircraft were left stranded at Meigs, and all the local pilots were mad as hell. But sadly, it was Daleu's Chicago and he did what he wanted. Chicago has its own rules, and god forbid you challenge them.