O'Hare expansion foes still fighting to save St. Johannes Cemetery
As plane after plane touched down Sunday on an O'Hare International Airport runway alongside St. Johannes Cemetery, the crowd gathered in the 159-year-old grounds couldn't help but turn around and stare.
But even the meanest glances couldn't stop the traffic, which punctuated an afternoon memorial service orchestrated to send a message to Chicago that opponents of the airport's expansion plan will continue the fight to save the cemetery from being paved over by another runway.
"Our purpose has been simple," said Robert Sell, a member of St. Johannes Cemetery. "To preserve the right of free people to worship as they choose without the interference of government."
More than 350 people gathered Sunday to the event, which was organized by the villages of Bensenville and Elk Grove Village, as well as members of the St. Johannes Cemetery Committee.
Buses shuttled people from Bensenville's village hall to the cemetery grounds for the 90-minute service.
Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson promised the audience a vigorous fight to save the cemetery. Earlier in the week, the Elk Grove Village Board unanimously approved a $500,000 money transfer to its legal defense fund to continue the fight against O'Hare expansion.
In total, the village has spent about $6 million in legal fees on the fight and for the promotion of a south suburban airport near Peotone.
"It ain't over, regardless of what (Chicago Mayor) Richard (Daley) tells you," Johnson said. "We will win for one simple reason: we are right. In the end, it's our faith that will prevail."
Diane Martin came with a friend and a camera Sunday to document the event. The Elmhurst woman has been taking photos for the last year of the Bensenville properties slated for demolition to make room for O'Hare expansion.
"I don't have any personal connection to this place, but I thought it all very bizarre," Martin said. "I feel for the people who have been displaced from their homes. Their neighborhood is all gone. All for progress."
Marilyn Czerniak of Inverness attended Sunday's service with her sister, Melinda Pecorelli. The sisters said several of their ancestors are buried on the grounds, and they wanted to show their support for the efforts to save the cemetery.
"Their farmland was condemned to make room for the airport, and now they want to take the land they're buried in," Czerniak said. "This is holy ground. We had to come out and show our support."