Sauerberg washes hands of O'Hare expansion
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Sauerberg declined Thursday to take a position on O'Hare International Airport expansion, which is touted by supporters as an economic boon to the region and derided by neighboring suburbs as a property-stealing boondoggle.
"I don't think there is anything I can do about that," the Willowbrook physician said during a taping of "At Issue" on WBBM 780 AM, which airs Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and again at 9:30 p.m.
O'Hare expansion - long pushed by Chicago's mayor and opposed by many suburban Republicans - has been a political third rail in Illinois politics for decades. Former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, an Inverness Republican, is still praised by expansion opponents for blocking federal funding during his years on the Hill.
But Sauerberg, who is running for his first public office and largely self-financed, said he is not wading into those waters.
Still, he said he feels for the opponents, including Bensenville and Elk Grove Village, where officials continue to try and thwart expansion even as construction continues.
"God bless those people," he said.
If Sauerberg beats veteran incumbent Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat, he said he will try and bring both parties together to seek a resolution. Durbin, who is seeking his third term, supports O'Hare expansion.
Chicago officials plan to have major parts of the project's first phase completed this fall and they are fighting in court to demolish hundreds of homes in Bensenville needed for later parts of the project.
The multi-billion dollar reconfiguration of runways started in late 2005, but it is taking years longer than first promised and it is more than $1 billion over budget.
Elk Grove Village President Craig Johnson, a longtime Republican, scoffed at Sauerberg's lack of opinion on O'Hare expansion.
"I think we will see Sen. Durbin have a cakewalk," he said. "This guy has no chance."
Sauerberg said he intends to put up a fierce campaign against Durbin, and he has long blasted the assistant minority leader in the Senate as "ultra liberal" and out of touch with Illinois voters.
On other issues, Sauerberg said he supports suspending the federal gas tax, expanding U.S. drilling and tapping the nation's reserve supplies to address fuel prices.
Sauerberg said money for road construction, which is funded by gas taxes, can be found elsewhere in the budget, but he couldn't identify a specific source.
"We have to give people some relief," he said.