Meigs Field News Archive:

In some ways, it is a testament to the arrogance involved in the Meigs destruction that the issue is still alive, nearly 4 years after the demolition.  Recall that Mayor Daley destroyed Meigs just a few weeks after he had been re-elected, during the run-up to the Iraq war.  The timing was specially chosen to give Mr. Daley both an excuse (terrorism, ya know?) and plenty of time for voters to forget about it before the next election cycle.

Well, surprise!  People (voters, candidates, the media, etc.) haven't forgotten. 

First, it was Bill "Dock" Walls, the first candidate into the race, who proclaimed on TV "My first act as Mayor will be to re-open Meigs Field.  That was the night that democracy died in Chicago."

Last week, Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown--who announced her candidacy for mayor a few weeks back--criticized the Mayor's actions on Meigs, saying that--because of fines levied by the FAA-- “The City of Chicago is out of another one million dollars and the taxpayers are once again holding the bag”.

And now, the favorite challenger, according to polls--Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.--is citing Meigs in his public comments prior to a decision whether to run for mayor after the fall elections in November.  In yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times, Jackson is quoted as saying that his decision whether to run will be based, in part, on whether he can convince voters “that corruption costs — that they’re paying for [the destruction of] Meigs Field, [emphasis added] that they’re paying to fight federal laws like Shakman, that they’re paying Jon Burge’s pension, that they are paying to investigate Jon Burge.”

Meigs supporters will recall that Rep. Jackson has already endorsed the "Parks and Planes" proposal of the Friends of Meigs Field, to reopen Meigs as a combination park/airport/air museum.

The FAA continues its investigation of the Daley administration's possible illegal misuse of funds to demolish Meigs

In September of 2004, an FAA investigation was announced into the reports that the City of Chicago had used over $1.5 million in "emergency repair" funds for O'Hare and Midway for the midnight demolition of Meigs.  Since that time, Mayor Daley and the City have admitted to actually spending over $2.8 million, nearly twice the earlier total.

The most recent information posted on the FAA's (USDOT's) docket dates all the way back to December, 2004.  It is the City's original reply to the FAA's notice of investigation.

As of this writing, the Friends of Meigs Field do not know of the status or timetable of the investigation, but there definitely is more to come. 

Stay tuned!

A Chicago Fire Department had an "emergency landing" on the south lakefront today.

Fortunately, the 3 CFD crewmen aboard suffered only minor injuries.

The CFD Air-Sea Rescue Squad was based at Meigs Field for over 40 years, before being wakened to move 9 miles south along the lakefront in the dead of night on 3/31/06.  Many members of the squad have been supporters of Meigs Field.  One was quoted as saying that by moving from Meigs, "they have turned us from a rescue squad to a body recovery unit."  (The extra transit time from the city limits where they are now located can spell the difference between life and death for a drowning person on the City's most popular lakefront locations.)

Our hearts and prayers go out to the members and families of the squad that have been affected by this incident. 

Keep up the good work for all of us.  We hope to welcome you back to Meigs in the future.

Arnold Randall, Director of Planning and Development for the Chicago Park District gave the presentation.


Title slide:
"Northerly Island: Developing Chicago's Next Great Urban Park"


Lots of pretty pictures of flowers, but no plans for the future.


This was the only diagram presented, the current configuration of basic bike path, grass and stick trees.


The Meigs shoreline is in "terrible" shape, the result of years of neglect by the City, and an intentional failure to accept Army Corps of Engineers funding to protect Meigs' runway.
 

It's been nearly 3 years since Meigs Field was bulldozed under armed guard at midnight without notice.  It's been nearly one year since the majority of participants in the Chicago Park District's supposed "public planning process" walked out in protest over the railroading that was taking place.  It's been nearly six months since the date Park District planners initially said that they would have "preliminary plans" for public consideration.

And the Park District STILL doesn't have a plan.

That's right.  The presentation yesterday by Chicago Park District Director of Planning & Development, Arnold Randall, essentially boiled down to: "we have no plan yet."

[Ed. Note: We apologize to our readers for assuming that the presentation would include details of the Park District's grand plan for the Meigs property, but we hope you'll understand.  Park District officials said in March of 2005 that they expected to share preliminary plans by the fall (of last year, that is.)  Instead, here it is almost spring again, and there are no details forthcoming.]

Instead, Mr. Randall gave a very nice presentation that was very short on specifics.  His history of the property skipped right over the 55 years it was an airport, the fact that 1/3 of the airport property was created specifically for airport purposes, the fact that the City had agreed to keep Meigs open until 2026, and any mention of the "midnight massacre."

Instead, he used an image of a beach tug-of-war as a metaphor for the fact that there is considerable opposition to the closing of the airport and the creating of another lakefront park in a 26-mile string of existing lakefront parks.

Financial challenges, slipping timeframe

Mr. Randall pointed out that it is a "challenge" for the Park District to plan this park, as funds are tight.  He mentioned that the Park District's capital budget is only 1/3 of what it was 10 years ago, and that there are constant demands from supporters and users of existing parks for maintenance and improvements there.

Mr. Randall indicated that the "temporary" concert venue on the Meigs site so far has met its financial goals, but brought in less than $1 million in net revenue to the Park District in 2006, and that these funds had to be split between maintenance of the existing rudimentary "park" and planning and development costs for their grand plan.  It will not apparently go far enough to pay for actual improvements in the park.

According to Mr. Randall, the Meigs shoreline is in "terrible" shape.  [Ed. note:  No kidding.  This state is due mainly to the fact that the City of Chicago refused to seek Army Corps of Engineering funds for shoreline repairs during the 1990's, when much of the rest of the Chicago shoreline was repaired.  Their reason appears to have been that the Corps would have funded repairs for a national transportation facility--e.g. Meigs Field--but not for a local park.  As a result, the Park District is left holding the bill for these repairs.]

Mr. Randall also indicated that the planning process has not gone smoothly so far.  Without divulging details, he indicated that the Park District had parted ways with the consultants originally hired to develop plans for the site, and would likely not have new consultants in place before late spring or early summer.  He did not say this, but it seems likely that the change in consultants is related to the slipping planning timeframe.

Mr. Randall indicated that we are still as much as a year (!) from a final plan for the Meigs property, and that even preliminary concept plans would not be circulated for public comment before late summer or early fall.  [Ed. Note:  According to reports published in local neighborhood papers, insider advocacy groups like the Friends of the Parks and the Grant Park Advisory Council have already seen some concepts.  We guess some members of the public are more equal than others.]

No budget, no schedule

Some of the most interesting information (or lack thereof) came during the question and answer period.  Tidbits include:

Commentary

Listen to yesterday's presentation was--if not encouraging--then at least not as discouraging as expected.

To aviation supporters, as well as to advocates of good and open government, it was somewhat gratifying to hear that the Park District is having such difficulties in developing a plan for Meigs. 

It was also interesting to hear Mr. Randall repeatedly acknowledge the Meigs supporters in the audience.  It is clear that Meigs supporters are having an impact on the process, even if the steamroller still seems in motion.  Its progress definitely seems to have slowed since the last we heard of it.

While--given the heavy hand of City Hall--the delay seems likely not to be a significant development, Meigs supporters should remember that the office of Mayor is not a lifetime position, and that the next mayoral election is in less than a year. 

Moreover, public opinion polls show that Daley opponents have never before had such a strong chance to unseat "King Richard."  There has been a nearly constant stream of City Hall scandals, starting with the Meigs debacle (only a few weeks after he was last elected), and his poll numbers, though still strong, have faded considerably.

As the time frame slips, mayoral election politics may play an important role in the future of the Meigs site, and--unlikely though it may seem--it is not impossible that brighter, cooler, fairer and more progressive heads may eventually prevail.

Most of all, it was curious to note the metaphor--a tug-of-war--that Mr. Randall himself chose to describe the public debate over Meigs' future. 

Remember, a tug-of-war is a contest between two sides, each of which presumably has a chance of winning.

Don't get your hopes up, but don't count out the Coolest Little Airport on the Planet yet.
 

Chicago, IL – In a front-page story today, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that the City of Chicago is poised to open a new, private-access "helistop" on the Chicago lakefront.  The helipad, located at the mouth of the Chicago River, on Chicago Park District property, will allow access for public safety helicopters, as well as private helicopter operators to land downtown.

The new helipad will have only a single landing pad and parking spot, compared with Meigs' seven landing pads, and enormous ramp for parking.  Moreover, helicopter traffic at Meigs accounted for only a tiny fraction (<10%) of operations, compared to fixed-wing traffic.  The site--built on public property--will only be accessible by private operators with a contractual agreement with the City, unlike Meigs Field which was a public-use landing facility, serving all the public.

In the Tribune article, the Illinois Department of Transportation cites the need for "a location close to the center of Chicago" for security purposes, "particularly after the 9/11 attacks."  What IDOT did not note is that such a facility--Meigs Field--already existed "after the 9/11 attacks" until it was demolished illegally under cover of night and police guard by Mayor Daley.

The new helipad facility is apparently the second one tried by the City Department of Aviation.  An earlier one planned for the roof of McCormick Place convention center was abandoned for logistical reasons.

A lack of landing facilities

The new helistop is sorely needed.  The City of Chicago, compared to other major cities, is far short of general aviation landing facilities close to downtown.  A check of the airports database at Landings.com indicates that, within 10 nautical miles of city hall (41.884N, 87.632W), Chicago has only 1 airport (Midway), 11 private-access heliports, and no other public landing facilities.

New York City, by contrast, has 3 public airports, 28 heliports including 5 public access heliports, and even 6 seaplane bases within 10 nm of their city hall (40.714N, 74.006W).

Los Angeles--the undisputed champ of the televised helicopter highway chase--has 4 public airports, and 69 heliports all within 10 nm of LA city hall (34.054N, 118.242W).

Both sides of his mouth

Yet, although he is proceeding ahead with the much-needed heliport, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley continues to simultaneously call for the complete ban of general aviation in the vicinity of major U.S. cities (notably ones with brand-new lakefront parks in his own neighborhood.)  In the wake of news stories reiterating a 2002 Al Quaida plot to crash a jetliner into L.A.'s he is quoted in today's Chicago Sun-Times as saying "it's ridiculous not to have no-fly zones in metropolitan areas."

Both the hypocrisy and ignorance of his position is stunning.  While opening a new landing facility downtown on the one hand--one that proves the lie in his rhetoric for closing Meigs--Daley simultaneously continues his drumbeat of demonization of general aviation.  Remember, the L.A. story involved not general aviation, but a plot to hijack a major commerical airliner.  Moreover, it is ludicrous to expect that terrorists purported ready to use shoe-bomb explosives to break into the cockpit and then commit selfguided-missile suicide would be dissuaded by the fines or revocation of their pilots licenses for entering a "no-fly zone." 

Unless Mayor Daley is prepared to literally shoot violators from the sky, his words are only demagoguery.

Friends of Meigs call for Daley to pay personally

Chicago, IL – According to news reports, today the Federal Aviation Administration has finally determined that the City of Chicago did indeed violate federal law in its midnight demolition of Meigs Field. The FAA has imposed the maximum fine allowed by law, $33,000.

Another investigation into the improper use of up to $2.8 million in federal aviation funds by the City of Chicago is still pending. Fines in that investigation could reach triple the amount misspent, or over $8 million.

“This vindicates what we’ve said all along,” said Steve Whitney, president of the Friends of Meigs Field, “Mayor Daley’s midnight massacre of Meigs was illegal. Good government doesn’t happen in the secret of night.”

Today’s action was the latest in a growing list of federal investigations of the Daley administration, including the Hired Truck program, minority hiring, and corruption in the Chicago Park District.

The Friends of Meigs Field—a 6,800-member volunteer organization dedicated to the downtown airport—called for Chicago Mayor Daley to pay the fine personally. “The Mayor of Chicago knew when he did this that it was illegal and would incur fines,” said Whitney. “Taxpayers should be outraged if they are made to pay for such blatant abuse of power.”

The FAA reportedly informed the City of Chicago of its findings in an August 31 letter, according to chicagobusiness.com. The City reportedly has 15 days to pay the fine or ask for a hearing.

Federal Aviation Regulations require that proper advance notice be given in advance of the closure of airports like Meigs, in part to allow the FAA time to analyze the adverse impacts. Since the Meigs closure, traffic, delays, congestion, and safety hazards have been reported to have increased at Midway and O’Hare airports. In addition, many flights appear not to be making the trip to Chicago any longer.

Fines increased since Meigs’ closure

The $33,000 fine made public today is the maximum allowed under the regulations prevailing at the time of Meigs’ destruction in March, 2003. Since that night, Congress passed new legislation—known as the “Meigs Act”—that increased the fines tenfold, to prevent such actions in the future.

$8 million investigation still pending

The FAA is still investigating whether the City of Chicago improperly spent over $2.8 million in restricted federal aviation funds designated for airport improvements. According to documents filed by the City of Chicago in December replying to the FAA’s Notice of Investigation, the City admitted to spending $2,887,462 in airport funds demolishing Meigs to make way for a nature park the mayor has sought since the early 1990’s.

If found to have misspent the money, the City would be required to repay the FAA, and—if the City refused—subject up fines totaling up to triple the amount at issue, or over $8.6 million.

“Those funds are to be used for improving airports, not demolishing them,” said Whitney. Cities like Chicago are restricted from spending Airport Improvement Program funds and similarly restricted federal aviation monies for purposes other than improving the nation’s airport system.

The City of Chicago cited other cities’ use of airport funds for demolition of closed airports, but in those cases, the FAA gave prior approval of the expenditures.

More information:

chicagobusiness.com article: http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=17682 (see below)

City of Chicago legal brief in reply to FAA Notice of Investigation, 12/3/2004: http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2004/041206meigs_response.pdf

Crain’s Chicago Business story 9/6/05:

FAA fines Chicago over Meigs Field
By Steve Daniels

The Federal Aviation Administration is moving to fine the city of Chicago $33,000 in connection with the sudden closure of Meigs Field more than two years ago.

In an Aug. 31 letter to the city’s Department of Aviation, the FAA said it’s assessing the civil penalty because the city didn’t notify the FAA before demolishing the runways at Meigs Field. The city provided the federal agency with notification a short time afterwards, but by then the runways had been destroyed and the airport couldn’t be operated.

The FAA letter gives the city 15 days to pay the fine or ask for a hearing on the issue. A spokeswoman for Mayor Richard M. Daley didn’t return calls today requesting comment.

Mayor Daley ordered the closing of Meigs, which took place in the early-morning hours of March 31, 2003. At the time, the mayor said the small airfield, used primarily by business executives and government officials to fly in and out of the city, posed a danger because of the possibility it could be a target for terrorists.

The city is now converting Northerly Island, the strip of land just south of Navy Pier that was home to Meigs, into a park.

Crain’s Chicago Business story
3/28/05:

In a major 2-page article, entitled “Meigs closure 2 years later: It’s for the birds”, writer Steve Strahler indicates that over half of Meigs’ former traffic has been lost to the region, while at the same time traffic (and congestion) at Midway Airport has risen.

In it’s official editorial, entitled “Daley's Meigs closure doesn't pass test of time”, Crain’s writes that “the decision to close Meigs was a bad one,” and that Daley’s “ham-handed” move comes without money to pay for anything substantial on the property.

Crain's photos: Meigs Field in March 2003 (left) and March 2005. Photos: Precision Aerial Photo

Click here to read the full story and editorial
 

Possible mayoral challenger U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has given a boost to proposals to reopen Meigs Field as a part of a park/airport/air museum complex on Chicago’s lakefront.

Backing the Friends of Meigs Field’s Parks and Planes proposal in a letter, Rep. Jackson reiterated his long-standing support for the famed airport, and indicated that he was “looking forward to working with you toward [its] implementation.”

Jackson, son of Rev. Jesse Jackson, is a well-respected congressman from Chicago’s south side, and has been active in regional airport issues for many years, supporting a new commercial airport in south suburban Peotone, IL.

When Daley single-handedly broke his agreement to preserve Meigs Field until 2026, Jackson lent his support to a measure in the state legislature to add the reopening of Meigs and building the Peotone airport to a bill designed to fast-track O’Hare expansion. The legislation ultimately passed without Meigs or Peotone in an eleventh-hour vote affected by unrelated side deals.

The significance of this development should not be missed. The City of Chicago has little money to develop a park at Meigs, and the property is likely to languish into the next mayor’s term. Should Jackson run and win, Meigs could be on the table, although the possibility may seem a long shot today.

Chicago Tribune coverage:

Jackson Jr. supporting new Meigs
Congressman again at odds with Daley over former airport

By Hal Dardick, Tribune staff reporter. Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Ill.: Mar 16, 2005.

In another challenge to Mayor Richard Daley, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) has added his name to an effort to rebuild an airport on Chicago's Northerly Island, once the home of Meigs Field.

On Tuesday Meigs Action Coalition officials released a letter from Jackson supporting their plan for a combination airport and nature park. Tuesday evening marked the last in a series of Chicago Park District meetings to gather public views on how to convert Northerly Island, a 78-acre peninsula, into a nature park--as Daley long has wanted.

Jackson wrote the letter in October, before his latest dust-up with Daley over the city's set-aside program. But he said Tuesday his position has not changed.

"As you know, I am for more runways in the region, not fewer," Jackson said in an interview. "The letter speaks for itself."

Click for the rest of the Tribune story
Click here to see Rep. Jackson’s letter
 

Meigs supporters lined up to get in.


Yellow stickers helped identify pro-Meigs attendees.


Votes for the Park District's pictures:
 This board: 49 
Est. total for all 3 boards:
About 150

Votes for a fair process:
Total: Over 380 by the end.


Video of votes being cast
against the Park District's unfair "process"
(Requires QuickTime player, free)


Democracy X'ed again in Chicago
 

Of roughly 75 attendees at the meeting, over fifty walked out in protest, holding a press conference and rally outside in the hall with chants of “parks and planes.”

Red stickers instead of green

At the seven meetings held by the Park District to gather public input, by far the largest bloc of attendees has been supporters of reopening Meigs Field.

At the first six meetings, Park District officials asked attendees to “vote” for and against photos of a limited array of park features that might be put on the Meigs property. Votes “for” a photo got a green sticker, against got red.

During the course of the meetings it became clear that the process was a sham.*

Therefore, at the final meeting, Meigs supporters used their own red stickers to vote against the whole process. Using the same number of red stickers instead of the greens and yellows issued by the Park District, supporters voted by placing their stickers on a large posterboard.

At first the stickers were placed in the shape of an X, symbolizing the X’ing of democracy in Daley’s midnight raid on Meigs, but eventually there were so many red stickers they filled the sheet.

A comparison of photos of the protest board versus the park photos shows the stark contrast. (In fairness, the remaining greens and yellows were split over 3 boards like this, but still, the reds outnumbered all of the others by more than 2 to 1.)

Shouts of “parks and planes”

Supporters held black X’s over their mouths to symbolize the silencing of the democratic process, as they silently processed into the hallway for a rally.

At the rally, over 50 supporters with signs and photos of the bulldozed airport gathered for a short press conference. Josh Levy, spokesman for Friends of Meigs Field, Rachel Goodstein, president of the Meigs Action Coalition, Steve Whitney president of the Friends of Meigs, and Bill “Dock” Walls of the Committee for a Better Chicago all offered comments.

At the end of the conference Meigs supporters broke into chants of “parks and planes,” loud enough to cause Park District officials to close the doors to the then-sparsely populated meeting room.

TV coverage of the protest was national, thanks to superstation WGN-TV, which is carried on many cable systems nationwide.
 
Friends of Meigs spokesman Josh Levy addressing the media.
Meigs supporters held X's in front of their mouths to
symbolize being silenced.

* -- For example, virtually no one—airport supporters and detractors alike—supported the idea of a concert venue for Meigs. Yet, halfway through the months-long process, the park board announced that the one thing they were definitely going to put there was—you guessed it—a 10,000 seat rock concert venue.
 

If you are a member of Rotary International, please contact your organization's leadership and ask them to

1) Avoid taking action that would effectively take sides in the debate over Meigs' future

2) Meet with representatives from Friends of Meigs Field for an open dialogue about the project and ways it could be accomplished without affecting the possibilities of reopening Meigs Field.

According to the Sun-Times:

"The Park District board Wednesday approved the five-year plan, which also includes a dramatic 100-tree gateway to Northerly Island donated by Rotary International."

"The gateway project for Northerly Island, the former site of Meigs Field, is near 12th Street Beach. Rotary has offered $275,000 for a 'grand entrance'' featuring 100 trees and about 500 paving stones."

The Friends of Meigs Field have attempted unsuccessfully to obtain details of the proposal and discuss the situation with Rotary International's leadership.

The move--the first corporate sponsorship of the destruction of Meigs--is something of a surprise, given the donor organization.  Rotary--though a worldwide organization--is headquartered in suburban Evanston, and is celebrating its 100th anniversary at its annual convention scheduled this year for Chicago.  Its members include The International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians, an aviation-oriented group that planned to use Meigs Field as its main arrival point for the convention.

A number of Rotary Clubs in the Chicago area have received presentations on the Meigs Field situation, at which members are almost unanimously in favor of the win-win proposals put forth by the Friends of Meigs Field.  Moreover, a number of Friends of Meigs' 6,800 members are also Rotarians, and presumably would be upset to hear their organization's funds are being used for such purposes. Yet the local clubs officially emphasize that they do not take sides in controversial local political battles, and steadfastly have remained neutral,

That is, apparently until now.

Although Friends of Meigs remains hopeful that the story is in error, a representative for Rotary would not deny its truth.

If you are a member of Rotary International, please help by contacting your organization's leadership (see left).

Relevant links:

Rotary International: www.rotaryintl.org
  Letters to the editor of The Rotarian: yourletters@rotaryintl.org
International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians: http://www.iffrinternational.org/
  President, Angus Clark (angus@foldhead.plus.com)
 

To order your tickets, please call 773-383-4762 and leave a message.
Visa/MasterCard/Checks accepted. Meigs Action Coalition, P.O. Box 147055, Chicago IL, 60614.

Capturing the epic story of the battle for Meigs since the mid-1990's, he points out that the recently announced deal with Clear Channel to privatize a portion of the Meigs property for rock concerts "won't even cover what it cost to rip up Meigs Field."

In one sidebar, Joravsky lays out the case for the Friends of Meigs' "Parks and Planes" proposal, explaining how and why the FAA might be willing to pay for the Park District to reopen Meigs Field. 

Secrets and Sex

In another sidebar, he questions why the Park District won't divulge the names of the secret 5-member committee that struck the deal with Clear Channel.  One member, he says, is Laura Foxgrover, director of the Park District's Department of New Business. 

This is the same woman who is said to have slept with (and borne the child of) one of the contractors to whom the Park District recently gave a sweetheart (and apparently unauthorized) contract to operate the Park Grill in the new Millennium Park.

Click here to read the entire story

 

The meetings, held in the Marquette Park (photo, right) field house, was attended by 11 members of the public, 9 of which were in favor of re-opening Meigs Field, based on discussion during the session.

Frustration on the part of Meigs supporters was evident, as the Chicago Park District representatives continued their mantra: "we are not in the airport business," ignoring an opportunity for millions of dollars in unrestricted funds for parks across the city available in the Friends of Meigs' proposal, "Parks and Planes."

Discussion was often testy, with Meigs supporters showing their exasperation at the increasingly evident lack of open-mindedness on the park of the Chicago Park District.

"This process is a farce," said one Meigs supporter, after hearing the Park District repeatedly dismiss the win-win plan proposed by Friends of Meigs Field.

At one point, Park District officials complained that the Friends of Meigs Field had somehow "stacked the deck" of attendees.  This, of course, is impossible.  Friends of Meigs Field has certainly tried to publicize these meetings, encouraging anyone to attend who has an opinion, for or against the airport.  The organization has no way to prevent Meigs opponents from attending.

The real issue is that there really are not very many people who are motivated to support Mayor Daley's ill-conceived scheme to destroy a civic transportation asset for a redundant lakefront park.
 

A tacit admission they were wrong???

According to a presentation at the February meeting of the Chicago Area Business Aviation Association, the City of Chicago is close to establishing a new downtown helipad, within yards of Meigs' location.

According to an impromptu presentation* by a CABAA member familiar with the project, the City is working on putting a helipad on top of McCormick Place convention center, immediately across the harbor mouth from Meigs Field.

  
Tidbits:

* -- The scheduled presentation was to have been given by Bill Brogan of the Chicago Department of Aviation, but he pulled out with only hours notice.  Meigs users may recall that Brogan was the manager of Meigs during most of its five-year "stay of execution" after it re-opened in 1997.  Brogan was also on the scene the night of Meigs' demolition. 

Now, apparently he's in charge of the project.
 

The following letter to the editor was printed in the Chicago Skyline last week:

March 1, 2005

To the Editor:

A concert venue on the Meigs Field location is phenomenally poor policy, even by the Park District's abysmally low "Meigs standards."

The Chicago Park District proposes to cede Meigs to promoters to put up a 10,000 seat concert venue, in exchange for a mere $800,000 per year, completely inconsistent with the Park District's stated goal of a "nature park," yet not enough to make even a dent in their estimated $26 million cost to develop a park.

The location is remote; access for 10,000 is poor, down a single-lane street; facilities are non-existent; nearby parking is paltry and spoken for by the museums. Most will need to wait with 9,999 other concertgoers for a trolley, or walk up to a mile and a half to their cars. In case of a natural or man-made disaster, emergency vehicles would have no chance to reach the site past crowds streaming down the single exit road.

The only reason Meigs is being considered over any of the better suited and sited venues downtown is because of the tiny amount of funds that can be raised to convert it to a park. Yet the Park District has ignored and censored ideas that could bring in over 100 times as much, enough to completely develop Northerly Island, with millions left over for local parks in every neighborhood.

One concept, by our organization, would create an exciting mixed use park/airstrip/air museum, with 25 acres of parkland, exciting family attractions capitalizing on the airfield, events and activities unavailable anywhere else in the city. All of the funds would come from aviation sources, 95% from the FAA.

To demonstrate, if this represents the annual proposed concert revenue ($800,000):

This represents the estimated amount available from our proposal:

($139 million, 174 times as much)

This much would go to Northerly Island, the rest to local parks:

 ($26 million)

The general funding concept has been blessed by the FAA, and for good reason: congestion at Midway and O'Hare is now at an all-time high since Meigs' closure. The only question is exactly how many dollars are available. Estimates have run both higher and lower than ours. It deserves serious study, but the Park board refuses.

Illegal midnight demolition, censorship of win-win proposals, discarding millions for local parks, and now selling out the lakefront for poorly conceived funding schemes.

Is it time for an elected park board, like every other park district in Illinois?

Sincerely,

Steven G. Whitney
President
Friends of Meigs Field