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Wheeling mayor: 'Enough' with runway study

Wheeling mayor says idea doesn't have a chance

Wheeling Village President Dean Argiris has sent a clear message to Chicago Executive Airport brass: Runway expansion is "never going to happen."

Gesturing his hands in a timeout, Argiris told airport leaders Monday night to put the brakes on talk of extending the main runway.

"Don't waste any more of our time or my time," Argiris told airport CEO Charlie Priester. "We have bigger things to do and better things to do. But this has to end."

Priester, who was tapped for the $6,000-a-month position created this summer, is overseeing a controversial master plan at Chicago Executive. The first, yearlong phase, what he called a "fact-finding mission," centers on changes in aviation and development around the airport, jointly owned by Prospect Heights and Wheeling.

Priester expects to reveal those findings in late spring and persuade the airport board of directors - appointed by the airport's municipal owners - to agree to a longer, second phase.

Then, Priester and engineering consultants would delve into the specifics of possible additions to the airport, most notably whether to extend runway No. 16/34. A longer runway, Priester says, would allow heavier corporate jets to take off with enough fuel to fly nonstop to Asia and the Middle East.

Argiris, however, wants to put a runway extension squarely off the table.

"I'll tell you now, I don't care what you bring to phase two. I don't care what public hearings you're going to have," he said. "You're wasting your time. Expanding runways, the thought of changing zoning, taking housing, taking the parks - it's never going to happen."

While he agreed with Trustee Bill Hein, who said that a master plan is long overdue, Argiris said the blueprint for Chicago Executive's future should focus on enhancing "what we have," urging the study's planners to address blight around the airport, search for federal grants to fund new infrastructure and attract commercial businesses that generate tax dollars.

"I think the message needs to be very clear from the village of Wheeling to your board: Say, 'You know what, timeout here,'" Argiris said. "'Enough with this runway extension.'"

Argiris' stance drew praise from airport neighbors who fear a runway extension will level homes and bring more loud planes.

"We've been waiting for someone to take a real stand, whether it was pro or con, and he came out and said, 'Forget it, it's not going to happen,' and that makes all of us very relieved," said Laurel Didier, who's joined a group called Citizens Against Runway Expansion.

Asked what Argiris' comments meant for the study, Priester pledged to present the pros and the cons of possible projects in a second phase.

"We certainly shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water," Priester said.

"We don't have all the information."

Dean Argiris
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