Meigs Field Plan Hearings

For nearly 55 years, Meigs Field airport in downtown Chicago has served the air transportation needs of Chicago, the Midwest and the nation. Meigs Field serves the entire public by contributing to the airport capacity of the region, providing life-saving medical and rescue flights, allowing access to Chicagos business district, and providing education and recreation to Chicago youth.

In March, 2003, without notice, hearings, or public input, Meigs Field was closed by the City of Chicago.

The Friends of Meigs Field, a non-profit volunteer organization, has developed a plan, Parks and Planes: A Vision for Meigs Field and Northerly Island that proposes the creation of Bessie Coleman Park, a combination park and airport at Meigs location, funded with federal airport revenues, and creating a unique and exciting public attraction.

As the Chicago Tribune recently opined:

There should be no public funding of any lakefront project until is has been vetted in public hearings. Second, any future public works megaproject should be presented ALONG WITH POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES. (9/21/03, emphasis in original.)

We, the undersigned, respectfully petition the Chicago City Council, the Illinois General Assembly, and the Chicago Park District to:

1) Each hold public hearings to seek timely, and more importantly, MEANINGFUL, public hearings, and to seek with open minds the opinions, ideas, and insights of the public into the important question of whether Meigs Field should continue as an airport;

2) Ensure that all reasonable alternative proposals are given fair consideration;

3) And, specifically, give consideration and support to the Friends of Meigs Fields proposal for Bessie Coleman Skypark at Northerly Island.