Chicago cleared to take over cemetery

After getting the go-ahead from appellate judges, Chicago officials are moving to take over a small Bensenville cemetery for O'Hare expansion.

Yet the cemetery's owner, St. John's United Church of Christ, remains hopeful the months-long process will be reversed before the graves are moved for a new runway.

"They are jumping the gun," said church spokesman Bob Sell, noting there is an appeal in the works. "It seems pretty insensitive."

The church and officials in Elk Grove and Bensenville believe the cemetery may be the key to ending the $8 billion expansion of O'Hare, a project aimed at reducing delays while increasing traffic.

The expansion will ultimately take more than 600 homes and businesses in Bensenville in addition to the 1,400 graves at St. Johannes Cemetery.

So far, Chicago owns about 524 of the needed properties. Bensenville officials are also fighting the demolition of those properties in DuPage County court.

O'Hare opponents have largely hung their legal hat, however, on the cemetery. They are invoking constitutional religious protections in an attempt to stop the cemetery's demise. If the graveyard can't be moved, the entire expansion project will have to be significantly modified.

"This is a faith matter," Sell said. "It is a family matter, and it really gets to the right of a church to be free on its property, which it has owned for over 160 years."

Expansion opponents and the church have been waging legal battles in multiple courts since the airport project got under way in the summer of 2005.

In September, they lost a key battle in federal appellate court that gave Chicago the right to go forward with eminent domain proceedings on the cemetery. Joe Karaganis, attorney for the opponents, said he expects to fight all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

The eminent domain process, in which a court determines the price Chicago must pay the church, could take months, if not more than a year. Chicago filed legal papers to take the cemetery earlier this month, and public notice was given this week.

"These things take time, unfortunately," said Rosemarie Andolino, who is heading up the airport expansion. "This one of the steps in the process and we need to move forward."

Andolino said the project is on target to open a new northern runway and another runway extension at this time next year.

However, funding for the project's second phase -- which would create the most significant delay reductions -- has still not been secured.