U.S. Rep. Quigley acting on O'Hare noise concerns

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley wants the Federal Aviation Administration and the city of Chicago to lessen the impact of noise from a new runway opening Thursday at O'Hare International Airport.

The Democratic congressman is taking residents' concerns to city and federal officials in hopes they will expand access to a program that puts sound insulation in homes.

Quigley said Tuesday he's also written to the Chicago Department of Aviation asking it to expand a program encouraging pilots to direct nighttime flights over less populated areas, such as forest preserves or industrial areas.

The runway is part of the O'Hare Modernization Program, under which the airfield is being reconfigured with parallel — rather than crisscrossing — runways.

Quigley says “neighborhoods and stable property values need not be sacrificed in the process.”