As Congress prepares to debate a $450 billion transportation bill, states and cities are getting their wish-lists ready. Bills such as this one typically include billions in earmarks, and this is unlikely to be any different.
But one project in particular could be this year’s version of the Big Dig, or the Bridge to Nowhere. It’s the expansion of Chicago’s O’Hare airport – hit by cost overruns, ethics questions and community opposition. But with an ‘Illinois Mafia’ in place in Washington, will Mayor Richard Daley reap the reward?
Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports are straining to keep up with heavy passenger loads, and regional officials are looking for the best way to increase capacity.
Illinois leaders have debated the problem for years.
Options include expanding O’Hare or some other regional airport, or creating a new airport entirely. But eager to bolster the city’s bid for the 2016 Olympics, Daley’s not waiting for a consensus. Instead he’s forcing an expansion of O’Hare before figuring out how to pay the $15-$20 billion price tag.
The project is fraught with troubles. Federal investigators are looking into pay-for-play allegations involving city officials. The project is over budget, and is opposed by the airlines who’d pay a large share of the cost.
And there’s been such fierce opposition from communities near the airport that former Daley aides have run political campaigns aimed at knocking off their mayors. In several cities Daley’s aides have beaten mayors who opposed the expansion and replaced them with appeasers.
Through all the turbulence, Daley has plowed ahead. Phase one of the airport expansion has added a runway to O’Hare, but the city still doesn’t have funding for phase 2 – and Daley still faces multiple lawsuits.
Meanwhile, there are at least two major efforts underway to establish ‘third airports’ for Chicago (after O’Hare and Midway). Governor Quinn promises to move forward ‘as fast as humanly possible’ on the Abraham Lincoln National Airport, which could be one of America’s largest by 2020.
And the Gary/Chicago International Airport recently received federal expansion funding, with the eventual goal being to build it (and not Abraham Lincoln) into Chicago’s third. Besides these projects, others favor a different plan for a new airport, or for efforts to make Milwaukee’s airport a more attractive option.
But where will the money for these projects come from?
Not surprisingly, Mayor Daley has already turned to the federal government for help; he sought about $1 billion in the ‘stimulus’ bill that passed Congress earlier this year. Instead, the city received nothing.
With many Illinoisans in key federal positions – and with Congress ready to consider the next transportation bill – it wouldn’t be a surprise if Daley tries again. Sources in the House of Representatives expect a $450 billion transportation bill to be introduced in the weeks ahead. (Senate leaders prefer to put off the transportation debate for a year or more.)
If House leaders ultimately get their way, the bill will be shaped by a number of Chicago Democrats. Jerry Costello chairs the House subcommittee that determines airport funding. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood hails from Illinois and supported the project when he served in the House. And White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will help shape the White House position.
Will Mayor Daley request funding? His office declined to respond for this story. But with no other funding readily available, and with Congress spending like a drunken sailor, he’d be foolish not to consider it.
Brian Faughnan is a former Capitol Hill staffer, and a contributor to RedState.com and the Weekly Standard blog.
