First, thanks to the AOPA for its tireless support in the efforts that saved Meigs Field and fought Daley’s illegal closure of the airport.

Second, Mr. Reynolds comment contains many inaccuracies about Meigs and its function in Chicago. The Friends of Meigs Field website is still functioning and contains everything about Meigs. Visit it at http://www.friendsofmeigs.org .

But some of Mr. Reynolds inaccuracies need to be corrected here.

Meigs was mismanaged by the Daley administration.

Meigs was primarily used for business and was a significant factor in winning conventions for McCormick Place. There has been a downturn in convention business since the demise of Meigs.

When we sued the City and the Mayor the lead plaintiff was the Illinois Association of Air and Critical Care, the medevac people. Only a couple of Chicago hospitals have heliports and most medical flying was done at Meigs. For example, each week at least one heart harvested for transplant came in or went out of Meigs. In 2007, The Chicago Tribune reported that surgeries at the heart centers in Chicago were significantly reduced. The connection is the loss of Meigs. 52 weeks times 6 years computes to about 300 lives not saved due to Daley’s actions.

Meigs did fall victim to real estate development. It is open space with an asphalt path around it because Daley was denied his casino license and the park district is strapped for cash to build anything there.

Meigs disappeared in the middle of the night because Daley plotted for weeks to close it. The good news is that John Harris, who was the Deputy Aviation Commissioner who crafted the illegal actions, was arrested with former Governor Blagojevich. And it is reported that John Harris is cooperating with Federal prosecutors.

Rachel Goodstein
Past President, Friends of Meigs Field (2002-2004

Anyway, we have the same problem in DC, a city that for all intents and purposes has no full service (tower, long runways, 24-hour fuel, etc) GA airport. The airports around DC make Midway look like a downtown city airport.

They stopped making land a long time ago, so every time an airport is closed, the barriers to replacing it are significant, maybe even infinite! I still hold out hope that someone might provide a grant to reclaim the island, or make a new one artificially, and put a runway on it.

Finally, our country needs Meigs Field, symbolically and logistically.

I’m a pilot and want to protect small airports, but I don’t see how we can win this messaging war. There are some facts that I feel,we as a community, have not addressed satisfactorily.

Our normal airport defense arsenal of economic development, emergency access and protection of open spaces is not completely relevant in the case of Meigs Field. Those arguments were designed to protect small airports in small communities.

First, Chicago is not undeserved. It has a Class Bravo and a Class Charlie within the city limits and several Class Delta airports in the immediate vicinity. Second, Meigs Field was owned by the Chicago Park District and paid for by the City of Chicago. It was not a private enterprise. And third, Meigs Field was under utilized; as it was generally used by a relatively small group of relatively wealthy citizens, a group not representative of Chicagoans at large.

The airport did not add substantially to the local economy. I’ve heard pilots claim that they used to fly in for dinner and shopping trips, but surely the resultant tax revenue iis incomparable to the cost of operating the airport.

Emergency access is not a pain point Chicago has ever faced. Although with the security protocols involved in getting the first family in and out of Midway, Meigs Field would no doubt prove convenient.

This is not an airport that fell victim to real estate development. Rather than a mall or condos, Meigs became a park. An open public space that’s used by far more people than the airport ever was.

When we talk about airport protection we tend to get intensely angry at Mayor Daley. As if he acted alone in an unexpected and completely irrational manner. But that’s an oversimplification.

Meigs disappeared in the middle of the night as a result of a complicated political and economic context. If we are going to save airports and prevent this from happening again, we need to work much harder at understanding the the full threat they face. It’s rarely a single politician or developer.

We need you articulate the value of these resources in a more accessible and understandable way. And not one that comes across as a special interest group protecting the interests of wealthy hobbyists.