REOPEN MEIGS FIELD!

Many Friends of Meigs and other Meigs supporters were in attendance and the result was striking.  Those who spoke did so eloquently, pointing out reasons to re-open Meigs ranging from the increased rescue times for the Chicago Fire Department's helicopter rescue squad that has been moved 72 blocks farther away from downtown (and over 22 miles from north side beaches) to the added congestion, runway incursions, delays, and errors at Midway and O'Hare since Meigs' closure, to the excitement of watching planes take off and land at 12th St. beach adjacent to Meigs.

Whenever a Meigs supporter would speak, they were greeted with enthusiastic applause.  When Meigs opponents spoke, the room reacted in stony silence.

A Park District representative called the Friends of Meigs midday on Thursday to offer an olive branch:  a full, unbroken15-minute slot at the head of the agenda to make the Parks and Planes presentation, in exchange for the organization's leaders pooling their time.  The Friends of Meigs accepted with the condition that those supporters not on the Executive Committee would still be free to speak as individual citizens.  Yet many Meigs supporters' names were never called, though they had waited patiently until all of the names had been called by 9:00 P.M. 

When the board attempted to adjourn the meeting without calling these individuals, an immediate reaction from the crowd brought a swift reversal, and most of those who had been left out were given the opportunity to speak after all.

Chicago
Park District
Budget Hearing
Thursday, Dec. 11
BE THERE!

"Parks over budget,
face big cuts"
- Chicago Tribune,
 Nov. 5

"Funding shortfall for parks;
District confronts unpleasant choices"
 - Crain's Chicago Business,
Nov. 24

"Parks facing a $30 million deficit"
 - Chicago parks superintendent David Doig, Nov. 6

"Re-opening Meigs Field will provide Park District
$139 million or more, erase budget gap,  create fabulous new park/airport"
- Friends of Meigs Field

Speak Now!...and make a difference

PROBLEM: The Chicago Park District projects a $30 million deficit for 2004.

The Park District is proposing to raise property taxes for the third time in four years, raise fees, and cut services and payroll to make ends meet. The Park District does not have funds to repair, staff and maintain all of its currently existing parks and play lots, much less add parks in park-starved neighborhoods.

SOLUTION: Up to $139 Million or more from the Federal Aviation Administration.

HOW IT WORKS: Re-opening Meigs Field

The re-opening of Meigs Field by the Chicago Park District and the City of Chicago can provide up to $139 million or more in federal aviation funds to the Chicago Park District.

Details are in the Friends of Meigs Field's new plan: PARKS AND PLANES: A Vision for Meigs Field and Northerly Island

VIEW THE PLAN: Visit our website, sign a petition: www.friendsofmeigs.org

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD: Come to the Park District Budget Hearing

Chicago Park District Budget Hearing
Thursday, December 11, 6:00 P.M. (come early)
Park District Headquarters, 541 N. Fairbanks, Chicago, 8th Floor

Minority Neighborhoods Shortchanged

According to a September 21 article in the Chicago Tribune: More than 20 years after the federal government sued the Chicago Park District for neglecting fieldhouses and playgrounds in minority neighborhoods, teens in those areas are being shortchanged in recreational programs compared with peers in more affluent areas.   On top of that, over half of Chicago's neighborhoods--mostly in poorer neighborhoods--have fewer than 2 open space acres per thousand residents, the minimum standard, according to the Chicago City Space Plan published by the Park District and City of Chicago.

Neighborhoods like Logan Square, Hermosa, Humboldt Park and the Lower West Side have less than a single acre of open space per thousand residents, according to the report.  Meigs' neighborhood, where Mayor Richard M. Daley lives, has over 48 acres per thousand residents according to the same report, yet the Park District stands poised to spend millions converting Meigs to a park when the neighborhoods are crying out for relief.

Win-win:

The Friends of Meigs Field have developed an exciting proposal to replace the bulldozed runway at Meigs with a combination of new parkland and a newly opened airport, complete with an aviation museum for all Chicagoans.  The Bessie Coleman Skypark and Chicago Air Museum plan is a bold way to benefit park users and planes alike. It combines a working airport with new park features like meadows, nature walks, a harborside promenade and a learning center where our children can learn about careers in the exciting field of aviation. It also would again become the place where the Friends of Meigs Field and the Tuskegee Airmen have given over 6,000 Chicago kids their first flights.

The Best: $139 Million for Parks

On Wednesday, Meigs Field supporters should take a moment to remember the 55th birthday of "The Coolest Little Airport on the Planet."  The airport was first conceived by Edward Bennett, Daniel Burnham's co-author of the Plan of Chicago in 1916. 

Throughout the 1920's there was considerable consensus to put Chicago's downtown airport on a proposed man-made island at Meigs' site, with the Mayor, City Council, State legislature, park commission and Chamber of Commerce all in agreement.  When the Great Depression intervened, the 1933-34 World's Fair was held on the property in an effort to "bootstrap" Chicago's economy.  After the Fair, the peninsula sat idle for 12 years until work began on additional landfill for the airport in 1946.

Looking for great gifts for your aviation-oriented loved ones?

Shop online at the Friends of Meigs Field website.  Gifts include T-shirts, mugs, caps, posters, and more.  And your purchases will go to help our efforts to re-open Meigs.

Stocks are limited so order SOON!

Over the weekend, intrepid volunteers of the Friends of Meigs Field were on the phone...calling on supporters to attend this week's budget hearings.

Over 500 Friends of Meigs Field who live in Chicago were called, urging them to attend the Chicago Park District budget hearings on Thursday, 12/11 at 6 p.m.

Thank you to everyone who said they will attend.  For those who said they'd try, we sure hope you can make it.  And most of all, thank you to all who volunteered their time on a Sunday (during a Bears game, no less!) to participate in the phonathon.

Air traffic controller errors have risen as Meigs Field traffic has been re-routed to Midway, O'Hare

According to a new story in the Chicago Tribune, controller errors in the Chicago area are rising dramatically, as traffic increases at O'Hare and especially Midway airport in the wake of Meigs Field's closure.  According to the report:

"Regional controllers handling planes near O'Hare International Airport and Midway Airport committed 24 errors so far this year that resulted in violations of the required minimum spacing between aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

"Eight of the errors made by controllers at the FAA facility in Elgin occurred since Oct. 1, corresponding with a surge in air travel that is expected to continue expand next year.

"Four controller errors were made in 2002, and eight were made in 2001 at the facility. In 2000, before the steep downturn in the airline industry caused by the 9/11 terrorist attacks a year later, the FAA recorded 10 errors at the facility."

Read the entire story and similar recent stories at 2003-12-05_FAA_head_decries_closure.htm

On November 14, a light aircraft--the type that Meigs Field was designed to serve--landed on the incorrect runway at Midway airport, touching down just in front of a Boeing 737 cleared to enter the same runway.

"A Mooney was cleared to land on [Runway 22-Right] but landed on [22-Left] instead," according to the Federal Aviation Administration. "A 737 was scheduled to take off on [22-Left], but saw the Mooney and stopped before entering the runway, allowing the Mooney to land."

The incident served as a chilling reminder of what the National Air Traffic Controllers Association has called an "unacceptably low safety level" since the closing of Meigs Field in March.  It is not surprising that an unfamiliar pilot would mistake one runway for another at Midway, where complex parallel runways are only a few hundred feet apart. 

What can be said is that no pilot ever cleared for a landing at Meigs Field ever landed at Midway instead by accident.

The Chicago "DODO" Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen is Celebrating! 

The 1,000,000th Young Eagle Flight!

You're invited to join the Chicago "DODO" Chapter, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. on Saturday, December 13, 2003 for our monthly Young Eagles Rally at the Gary-Chicago International Airport (GYY) terminal building.  The pilot briefing will be at 8:30 AM with Young Eagle flights beginning at 9:00 AM and continuing until each child has flown.  Refreshments will be provided for pilots and volunteers.  You can check flight status on the day of the rally after 7:30 AM by calling the Young Eagles Hotline.  In Illinois:  (312) 409-5621   In Indiana:  toll free  (888) 235-9824    Press 3 for the flight status mailbox.

Over 400 children are scheduled, so volunteer pilots are encouraged to take part.  Pilots must meet the requirements of the EAA Young Eagles Program. (Details at www.youngeagles.org)

We will be celebrating several milestones.

1. The 1,000,000 Young Eagle flown
2. The 1,000 Young Eagle flown by Robert "Butch" Bejna
   (All 1,000 done one at a time in Butch's Cessna 150.  Quite a feat!)
3. The 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers First Flight
4. The Tuskegee Airmen 2003 MVP (Most Valuable Pilot)
5. The Birthday of the Tuskegee Airmen Most Dedicated Volunteer, Victor Croswell
6. The Joyous Holiday Season!

It is our sincere hope that you can join us for this festive celebration.  For planning purposes, if you plan to participate, please send an e-mail to skyking332nd@aol.com.

Here's hoping you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we're looking forward to seeing you!

Join the FRIENDS OF MEIGS FIELD as we support
the PALWAUKEE AIRPORT PILOTS ASSOCIATION

DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

A No-kidding Once-in-a-lifetime Aviation Event!
The Wright Brothers 100th Anniversary Banquet Celebration

Wednesday, December 17th - A never-to-be-forgotten aviation evening!

Door prizes!

Details:

For more information visit www.pwkpilots.org

Don't wait, time is short!

Sign up now - join in the celebration - prizes, music, dancing, fun!

Yesterday local newspapers reported that FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has termed the closure of Meigs Field "a terrific problem from all of our standpoint."  The comments came in the context of a telephone news conference with transportation reporters across Illinois.

At the same time, according to the Chicago Tribune, Ray Gibbons, president of the controllers union at the Elgin FAA center said, "The closure of Meigs and the new mix of small and large aircraft we are seeing is bogging down Midway and making our job incredibly more complex in the airspace around Midway, Meigs and O'Hare."

Reported controller errors have risen this year in the wake of Meigs' closure from 4 in all of 2002 to 20 already this year.

Entitled "Parks and Planes:  A Vision for Meigs Field and Northerly Island" the plan builds on a proposal introduced earlier in the year by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association to use FAA funds to benefit Chicago parks. 

The plan proposes a new Bessie Coleman Skypark and Chicago Air Museum at a reopened Meigs Field, adding new parkland, features, and public attractions, while restoring the benefits of a downtown airport to Chicago.

Some of the features include:

The Friends of Meigs Field are calling for public hearings on the future of Northerly Island and Meigs Field, including full and fair consideration of this proposal. 

The National Air Tour (www.nationalairtour.org) visited "The Coolest Little Airport on the Planet" Tuesday, coming as close as it could to landing, but ultimately having to bypass Chicago.

Stopping overnight in Lansing, IL on Monday, the tour was originally scheduled to stop in Chicago at Meigs Field on Tuesday, September 9.  Instead, with the runway in a shambles, the tour flew over the famous-but-damaged airfield in a show of support.  The tour, includes over two dozen historic aircraft, the likes of which have not been seen together in Chicago since the dedication of Meigs Field in 1950.  (The airport opened in 1948.)

Pilots of 25 museum-quality historic aircraft from the 1920's and 30's will stop in 26 cities, recreating as closely as possible the route of the 1932 air tour that was never completed due to the Depression.

Park District has failed to even acknowledge formal request for delay;
Alternate proposal only weeks from completion

Chicago, IL - Today the Friends of Meigs Field issued a statement deploring the apparent continuation of demolition at Meigs Field, Chicago's lakefront airport.

"The city seems to be running scared," said Rachel Goodstein, president of the Friends of Meigs Field. "What other explanation is there for not getting public input or considering alternatives that the public and taxpayers almost certainly would prefer?"

According to news reports, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District are poised to resume demolition of Meigs Field today. The Friends of Meigs Field and a coalition of aviation organizations have made a formal request to the Chicago Park District for a moratorium on demolition long enough to finalize and present an alternate plan for Meigs that would create a combination park/airport, and provide millions in revenue to the cash-strapped Park District for parks elsewhere. 

The Park District has not even acknowledged receiving the request, much less seriously considered it.
 

Despite a late entry that kept us out of the official program, EAA AirVenture attendees ("AirVenturers?") made special efforts to seek out the Friends of Meigs tent, located near the Century of Flight pavilion on AeroShell Square.  The tent was donated by EAA.

Thousands signed petition postcards asking Congress to take action to reopen Meigs Field.  The final total has not been tallied, but seems certain to exceed the event goal of 5,000.  The postcards will be sorted by district, and presented to members of Congress, asking them to include language reopening Meigs Field in upcoming legislation.

Many visitors expressed their shock and outrage, not only over the closure, but also over Mayor Daley's recent callous remarks about a pilot who set down at the closed Meigs with an electrical problem.  Daley had seemed to imply that he felt the incident was a hoax to embarrass him, showing his lack of understanding of general aviation by claiming the pilot was hundreds of miles from the proper course.

According to news reports, Daley was quoted in a news conference yesterday as saying "This is the city of Chicago. It's in the state of Illinois. Oshkosh is up there. It's north of here a couple hours. If he's going to Oshkosh, that man is going in the wrong direction."   According to the Chicago Sun-Times, his insinuation was that the incident might have been intentional to embarrass the mayor for his recent closure of Meigs.

The Mayor's comments reflect both a callous indifference to the safety of air traffic in the region and a woeful ignorance of the airspace around Chicago and its traffic.

According to another news report, the pilot did not even know of Meigs' closure in advance, and only discovered it when approaching the torn-up runway.  The airport is still shown as open on FAA charts, due to the City's illegal closure without proper notice to the FAA.

Because pilots usually do not fly single-engine aircraft over Lake Michigan, in case of mechanical difficulty, a great deal of traffic between the EAA convention and points east passes along the busy VFR lakefront flyway over Chicago's lake shore.  The excerpt from the Chicago Terminal Area Chart, at left, proves the point.  The dark blue band along the lakeshore is a "VFR flyway,"  where a heavy concentration of flights pass through, avoiding O'Hare and Midway airports' airspace, and staying close to shore.

The wisdom of this practice was only proven by the experience of the pilot landing at Meigs on Sunday.  Suffering from an alternator failure and a loss of radio communications, and faced with increasing rain and falling visibilities, the pilot did the safe thing:  Landed at Meigs.

The Friends of Meigs Field responded with a press release today, calling the Mayor's comments "irresponsible" and "out of line."  The press release details how the pilot was exactly where he should have been if he had really been en route from Michigan (originally from Maine) to Oshkosh, WI.
 

"Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 -- Century of Flight" is being introduced this week at the EAA's AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, and the new version has "dual default" airports:  SEATAC in Seattle, WA, and (drum roll) good ol' Meigs Field.

Meigs has been the default or "home" airport for Flight Sim since its inception, before even Microsoft was involved.  The original program was written by a couple of software engineers at the University of Illinois, in Champaign, IL.  They wanted to model an airport environment that had lots of interesting scenery, and that they were familiar with.  They chose Meigs, a popular weekend destination for pilots from the Champaign area.

The original version used nothing more than sticks for buildings, but Meigs' famous profile was recognizable.  In the beginning the only place you could "fly your desktop" was Meigs.  Today's version is far more detailed, modeling airports around the world, and showing individual buildings, streets, and landmarks.

According to a report today in AirVenture Today online (the daily news from the EAA's AirVenture convention in Oshkosh, WI) the pilot involved in Sunday's emergency landing--Richard Randall--and his passenger Dick Green, safely arrived in Oshkosh on Tuesday.

They reported that they had not been aware that Meigs had been closed until they made a low pass over the runway during their emergency approach, and discovered the damage done on March 31. The airport is still shown to be open on charts: a result of the City's illegal secret closing of the airport without giving proper notice to the FAA.

Unable to communicate via radio after his alternator failure, Randall encountered increasing rain the farther north he flew along Chicago's lakeshore.  He made the prudent choice, and reversed course to Meigs, shown on his charts.  When he discovered the torn-up runway, he made another circuit, and landed on the grass adjacent to runway. According to AirVenture Today, Randall said, "We land on grass all the time. We made an uneventful landing, and you should have seen all the people coming."

The men reported that the Chicago police who greeted them at the airport were "helpful," but Park District officials-including a lawyer who threatened to charge them with trespassing-were "arrogant." After repairing a loose connection, the pair ferried the aircraft to DuPage under a ferry permit from the FAA, after which they resumed their journey to Oshkosh, arriving Tuesday.
 

Postcard Drive to Congress:  "Re-open Meigs Field"
Cell-phone calls to Chicago City Council

EAA provides tent on AeroShell Square

Oshkosh, WI - The Friends of Meigs Field will be hosting a tent at this year's Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture convention in Oshkosh, WI.  The group will be collecting signatures on postcards to send to Congress and other public officials in the ongoing effort to reopen Meigs Field.

The tent, provided gratis by the Experimental Aircraft Association, will be "operations central" for the group, with volunteers gathering signatures and encouraging Chicago residents to call their aldermen and request hearings on Meigs' closure and alternative plans to create a combination park and airport from the famous airstrip.

If you are coming to Oshkosh, please be sure to stop by and sign a card.  Take a few back to your local airport, too.

Chicago, IL - This afternoon, a 1940's Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser executed an emergency landing at Meigs Field, after experiencing an electrical and radio failure, and the pilot feared having been hit by lightning.  The incident started a couple of miles north of the closed airport.  According to reports, the pilot landed on the grass adjacent to the damaged runway.

The pilot was reported to have been enroute to Oshkosh, WI, possibly to attend the upcoming EAA AirVenture convention, that opens on Tuesday.  No injuries were reported.

This is at least the fourth emergency landing at Meigs in recent years of which the Friends of Meigs Field are aware, including a helicopter emergency landing less than two weeks ago (see below.)

Click here to read the Chicago Tribune's account: Meigs again proves a lifesaver
Click here to read the Chicago Sun-Times story:  Plane in trouble lands safely at Meigs

Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser performance (from www.landings.com)

Chicago, IL - Despite the opportunity to bring between $40 million and $630 million in new revenue to the Chicago Park District by reinventing Meigs Field as a park with an airport, Chicago Park District commissioners today voted to proceed with the demolition of Meigs Field on a fast track.

The Board refused to defer the decision even a few weeks to allow the Friends of Meigs Field to present a plan under development that would reopen the airport as a combined park and airport for all the people of Chicago, and provide $40 to $630 million in additional federal funds that could be used to improve parks across the city.  There was not even any discussion between board members prior to the vote on the issue.

According to Park Board President Maria Saldaņa, "the decision to close the airport has already been made."  In other words, the City and the Park District decided to go back on their word to preserve Meigs for up to 24 years with absolutely no public input.

The Chicago Park District board is completely appointed by the Mayor of Chicago, the only park board in Illinois that is not elected by the voters. 

(Any connection there to the way they ignore the public's opinion?  Don't forget, a recent Chicago Tribune poll showed that 65% of those polled were against the Mayor's closure of Meigs.)  The vote was unanimous, with 2 commissioners (Pickens and Burroughs) absent.

The result is that on Wednesday, a $1.5 million contract was approved, giving Pacific Construction Services approval to remove the runway, some electrical infrastructure, and add topsoil to replace the runway.  The funds will come from the City of Chicago Department of Aviation, a questionable practice, since the FAA prohibits redirection of many airport funds outside the airport system.

In contrast to previous reports that indicated the destruction would begin in "early fall," the Park District said Wednesday that demolition will begin "within 30 days." 

(We give 'em 'til midnight, max.)

More details:
Chicago Tribune:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0307170089jul17,1,4231923.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed

Chicago, IL - Today, the Friends of Meigs Field will lodge a protest with the Chicago Park District over the haste in which a demolition contract is being issued for the removal of the Meigs Field runway. 

In the past few days, the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times have reported that the Chicago Park District has already chosen a contractor to demolish the Meigs Field runway.  Friends of Meigs Field will be on hand to protest the ratification of this contract today at the Chicago Park District committee and board meetings.

The contract would seem to violate FAA requirements that bar use of aviation funds for non-aviation purposes.  The Park District plans to hire the contractor but pay for it using City of Chicago Department of Aviation funds.

The Friends of Meigs will request a moratorium on demolition proceedings until public hearings can be held on the question of Meigs' fate.  The Friends of Meigs expect to introduce in the coming weeks a win-win plan that would provide between $40 million and $600 million in new revenue to the cash-strapped Chicago Park District, while reopening Meigs as a reinvented combination park and airport for all the people of Chicago to enjoy.
 

The Friends of Meigs Field will be hosting a tent at the upcoming Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture convention in Oshkosh, WI, July 29-Aug. 4.  The tent is being donated at show center near Aeroshell Square, courtesy of the EAA.

Friends of Meigs Field are seeking volunteers to help staff the tent, where we will be generating grassroots contacts to local, state, and federal decision makers, asking them to reopen Meigs Field.

If you can spare a half day at the world's busiest air show, please contact us.

Bonus: We have a LIMITED(!!!)  number of (air-conditioned!) hotel beds available for volunteers staying overnight.  Let us know, and we'll see if we can help put you up.
 

According to stories in the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, Meigs Field continues to protect lives, even in its current damaged state.

On Saturday, a helicopter reportedly registered to the U.S. Border Patrol made an emergency landing at the presently-closed Meigs Field, after a suspected bird strike.

The incident is at least the second since March 31 when the City tore X's into the Meigs runway, in which the shuttered airport has protected lives.  On April 2, a Meigs controller, still on duty, helped prevent a mid-air collision over the south lakefront, protecting at least the lives of the two pilots involved and any passengers aboard.  The incident was captured on tape.  (Read the transcript.)

Both incidents highlight the role Meigs Field plays in air safety in the Chicago region, a role that would be lost should Meigs be closed permanently.

The Friends of Meigs Field have decided not to proceed with an appeal to the Illinois State Supreme Court of their case to reopen Meigs Field.

Many people responded to our call for pledges toward the effort, but the total raised in the short amount of time available fell short of the significant sum required (over $100,000) to cover expected legal expenses in the event of a positive ruling by the Court.

Those who pledged toward the effort will be given the option of withdrawing their pledge or applying it to the development of the plan for reopening Meigs as a combination park-airport.

Thank you to all of the generous supporters who answered the call.