Now that the third airport debate has resurfaced, it’s important to put the latest “special interest airport bill” (Debbie Halvorson’s Senate Bill 2063) into context.

Several Illinois laws – including the Municipal Code, Aeronautics Act, Joint Airports Act, Intergovernmental Cooperation Act and the Illinois State Constitution – all authorize airport construction in Illinois.

O’Hare, Midway, Joliet, Lansing, Rockford were built under these existing laws, as were virtually every commercial airfield in Illinois for a century, including several in Will County.

But SB 2063 proposed a “special interest” airport law. It would allow “private actors” appointed by politicians to serve as commissioners to condemn land, collect taxes, construct, develop and manage the Abraham Lincoln National Airport. What’s most troubling is the bill strictly forbids elected officials (read: accountable) from running an airport, but requires private citizens (read: unaccountable influence peddlers) to do so.

That governance model – infamously employed by the Teachers Retirement Fund and the Illinois Healthcare Facilities Planning Board – is what landed Antoin “Tony” Rezko in prison.

Cynics might suggest that contributors be barred from serving on an airport board. But SB 2063 doesn’t do that. And we cannot ignore the rich history of Illinois politics – “don’t send nobody that nobody sent.”

Quite frankly, SB 2063 would open the door for the “Chicago patronage machine” to run the south suburban airport – and nothing would kill the airport faster.

Why? Because private investors – the only realistic source for financing this airport – have stated repeatedly that they have no tolerance for Chicago-style graft and corruption.

SB 2063 was suspiciously noteworthy for another reason. It passed without fanfare or publicity by its sponsor. It’s almost unimaginable that legislation effecting one the most contentious issues facing the south suburbs in 30 years managed to slip through the Illinois Senate without notice. (Fortunately, the bill died quietly in the Illinois House.)

There is an alternative to SB 2063. It is the plan put together by the Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission (ALNAC).

ALNAC is comprised of 21 municipalities in Cook, Will and Kankakee counties. Its Board of Directors is comprised of the mayors of those cities, all of whom are elected officials and must comply with strict ethics laws.

ALNAC’s board is designed to protect the investors, the future of our project, and future airport commissioners from doing something wrong.

During the past four years, ALNAC’s participating governments have studied airports. They participated in public debates and conceived a model that minimizes risk. They entered into intergovernmental agreements for a common, shared goal to create 15,000 jobs. And they secured $300 million in private sector commitments.

ALNAC’s private developers have built airports around the world. But, again, they won’t invest if their money is put at-risk by shady politicians.

If Will County officials truly want an airport, they’d join ALNAC, which is legal, tested, and in compliance with Illinois laws, according to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. But instead, they seek to circumvent existing statutes and create special interest legislation that does not serve the state or protect the people.

Halvorson apparently thinks she can fool voters by saying “I won’t let Chicago politicians tell us what to do.” Yet, she regularly meets with Mayor Daley on airport financing; asks Congressman Rahm Emanuel for strategic advice; seeks Gov. Blagojevich’s legislative support; and served as Emil Jones’ majority leader.

In short, Halvorson relies on the Chicago machine for just about everything, yet attempts to bad mouth the same people as “bigwigs from Chicago.”

Halvorson says it’s about “local control.” But ALNAC is locally controlled. ALNAC is chaired by the Mayor of University Park, a Will County home-rule community that borders the airport footprint.

Someone should tell Halvorson that there’s a difference between local control and Rezko control.