BGA looks at O’Hare
Wednesday, Jul 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* BGA press release…
As Chicago embarks on an $8.5 billion expansion project at O’Hare, the Better Government Association looked at the airport’s history of failed predictions, broken promises and costly disappointments.
We reviewed decades of financial records, contracts and planning documents that revealed billions of dollars in spending to expand O’Hare, reduce delays and improve the passenger experience. Yet O’Hare continues to lag. And along the way, the BGA found a history of machine politics, bid-rigging, fraud and even an assassination.
Don’t miss this first-of-its-kind, multimedia, three-part investigation published in partnership with Chicago Magazine.
* From the article…
In the last 15 years alone, City Hall has saddled the airport with more than $18 billion in debt and pledged nearly $7 billion more — enough to build two nuclear aircraft carriers — in an attempt to make flying through O’Hare a little more bearable. […]
No other major airport has borrowed so much, and accomplished so little, records show. A BGA analysis of debt at the five busiest airports in the nation — including those in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Denver — put O’Hare at the highest debt and the lowest in on-time performance. […]
Tens of billions of dollars later, O’Hare still languishes near the bottom of the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ airport rankings for flight delays.
So why is O’Hare lagging behind? The Great Recession didn’t help, nor did expensive security upgrades following September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It’s also faced a near-constant stream of litigation over everything from having to displace graveyards to insider deals. […]
To date, expansions at O’Hare have put more than a dozen people in prison, including the late Ald. Thomas Keane, 31st, and runway paving contractor George B. Krug Sr., whose children’s business decades later remains a major O’Hare contractor.
Numerous probes have unveiled sweetheart deals that benefited the businesses of elected officials and cronies, illegal payments to secure contracts, and the gaming of programs meant to increase the hiring of businesses owned by minorities and women.
* My “favorite” passage…
Under Emanuel’s O’Hare 21 plan, which is packed with new gates, concourses, and amenities, the terminal will move to a new structure at the site of Terminal 2, which is set to be demolished. The idea is to have a mixed-use terminal where domestic and international travelers can transfer between flights. The estimated cost: $2.2 billion.
To execute the expansion, the city recently selected a design team helmed by renowned Chicago architect Jeanne Gang. Along the way, a key member of Gang’s team was represented by lobbyist Gery Chico, a longtime City Hall powerbroker, two-time mayoral candidate and political ally of indicted Ald. Ed Burke, 14th. Chico’s law firm, Chico & Nunes, also did legal work on a recent bond deal to fund airport projects. He did not return telephone messages.
The selection, under a process in which even the identities of Emanuel’s hand-picked selection committee remain cloaked in secrecy, was announced days after Lightfoot took office.
* Related…
* What was promised vs. what O’Hare got
* History of connections, corruption at O’Hare
- lakeside - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 10:49 am:
==enough to build two nuclear aircraft carriers==
Man, imagine what Chicago could have done with the two nuclear aircraft carriers this boondoggle cheated us out of. Just makes you mad thinking about it.
- lakeside - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 10:51 am:
What if we were willing to settle for non-nuclear? How many of those could we still get?
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 10:54 am:
=What if we were willing to settle for non-nuclear? How many of those could we still get?=
We could take over the Great lakes and really stick it to Wisconsin. We could make them send us Aaron Rogers and force the Brewers to lose to the Cubs every time they play.
Just imagine the possibilities…..
And yet we are stuck with O’Hare..
- Anon - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 10:58 am:
==A BGA analysis of debt at the five busiest airports in the nation — including those in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Denver — put O’Hare at the highest debt and the lowest in on-time performance.==
I am not an aviation expert… so help me out here. Do they adjust for things like weather? Because Chicago has you know… seasons.
- Keyrock - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:01 am:
The corruption at the airport has long been legendary.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:02 am:
Exelon now adding two nuclear powered aircraft carriers to the Clean Energy Jobs Act.
And since the gaming bill allows slots at airports, they become the first aircraft carrier/casinos.
- Anyone Remember - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:03 am:
Anon -
Thanks for pointing out the obvious BGA missed. How many inches of rain per year in LA? When was the last time planes had to be de-iced in LA?
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:08 am:
“By the time Orchard Field became O’Hare Airport, there were billions a year in contracts being doled out and ‘believe me’ many tried to grab any bit of it. It was an even bigger money-maker than numbers and Mayors and cronies were in charge of dividing it all. Whenever anyone needed money, they’d try for a contract at the airport. To them, it was better than Citibank.”
- maybe
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:11 am:
“what Chicago could have done with the two nuclear aircraft carriers” Can a 747 take off and land on a 500′ runway? Asking for a friend.
- DuPage Saint - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:19 am:
I cannot wait for work to start on the Peotone airport
- Chicagobars - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:26 am:
As if the Sierra Club would’ve allowed nuclear reactors on Lake Michigan.
The strangest thing about O’Hare domestic terminals is how many City employees defend them as top notch when I relay criticisms from road warrior friends who use them a lot. They are, even the United one, “dated” at best compared to EWR and SFO and DCA among others.
- Chicagonk - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:36 am:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/12/13/18430634/burke-hit-with-allegations-of-political-interference-by-ex-aviation-commissioner
Another link back to Ed Burke.
- Dirty Red - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:38 am:
Somebody at BGA is re-watching Boss.
- lakeside - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:49 am:
==take over the Great lakes and really stick it to Wisconsin.==
Just park it off the shores of Milwaukee and watch the free cheese curds and meat sticks roll in.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 11:54 am:
– Can a 747 take off and land on a 500′ runway? —
It might if you put those two Illinois aircraft carriers end to end.
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 12:21 pm:
“It might if you put those two Illinois aircraft carriers end to end.” You know what would be a cool idea? Line up those two carriers end-to-end and park them parallel to the lake shore a little bit north of McCormick Place.
- lakeside - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 12:24 pm:
Skeptic - then we put a park on top.
You guys, these are all killer ideas.
- Annonin' - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 12:47 pm:
Did not read the BGA report. Do they mention airports are funded with landing fees and user fees? Has anyone been through Atlanta lately…not a dream land. LAX usually has lines OUT the door. Nearly ever place names has scandals
- Last Bull Moose - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 12:49 pm:
Corruption at O ‘Hare is one reason the City of Chicago should never own a casino.
- Nick - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 1:36 pm:
Others have noted that the weather is a contributing factor which worsens performance.
I’d also note that some projects which the article doesn’t seem too happy about were ultimately necessary, like the runway reconfiguration. Which, of course the airlines backtracked on when during the middle of the recession they were facing billions of losses, but there’s a reason why airports around the world especially new ones seek to minimize runway conflicts.
Of course now the big limiting factor is gates.
Something which it doesn’t note too, which surprised me, was the old 30-year lease agreement between O’Hare and United/American, which basically gave the airlines veto power over any project which wasn’t necessary due to safety or security. And which often meant any additional gates were veto’ed by American, United, or both, so as to stop the other or another airline from gaining more flights. It’s why the last major terminal expansion/addition, Terminal 5, was all the way back in 1993. Only when it expired in 2018 was the airport in a position to finally seriously talk about terminal redevelopment and adding more gates.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 3:00 pm:
I’m confused. aren’t they still finishing the airport construction? (yes) was it supposed to be done by now? (no). will we be able to make some assessments on delays once it is finished? (yes) is it a huge money project that uses Federal and airport generated dollars and not locally generated taxpayer dollars? (yes) are there lots of contracts involved? (yes) Can we focus on contract awards and such processes that make awards generally in governments? (big yes. so, on this project AND others.)
- OneMan - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 3:35 pm:
I would pay extra for a flight that laucned off the end of an aircraft carrier.
We could even have Top Gun Tuesday, combine this with the water park at the Thompson Center and a casino we are the new Vegas baby.
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Jul 24, 19 @ 4:25 pm:
“I would pay extra for a flight that laucned off the end of an aircraft carrier.” It just occurred to me that there would need to be a runway oriented east/west for the crosswind days. So with the money that would have been spend on Peotone, build 2 more aircraft carriers and park them next to Navy Pier. And then, I don’t know, maybe put a Ferris wheel on it or something?