Tiff over a TIF? And is there a non-sonic boom in the future?

Bensenville is considering amending its tax increment financing district.

Before you turn to the celebrity page or sports section, let me explain that this is an intriguing development in the nonstop war between the village and the city of Chicago over O'Hare International Airport expansion.

Two points to set the stage. TIFs are tools that allow governments to use property tax dollars to stimulate development in economically stagnant areas. O'Hare expansion involves creating six parallel runways to reduce congestion. But to achieve that goal, 600 Bensenville homes and businesses would be demolished. Chicago has already acquired most of the sites.

A recent letter to residents from the village says the TIF amendment is a "response to the O'Hare Modernization Plan, which has impacted properties that will be on the periphery of the expanded airport."

Adding to the TIF would let Bensenville work with affected property owners to facilitate future land use and development to protect property values and reduce the impact of the airport plan, the letter states.

The new TIF area is a mixture of homes and businesses including Geils Funeral Home. Bensenville Village President John Geils is the owner and business manager of the funeral home.

Details of what the village would do in the TIF area are sketchy at this point.

But don't expect hotels or an industrial park to crop up, Village Manager James Johnson said, explaining a buffer is needed if Chicago completes its expansion project. "We will do something positive there," he said. "It may be just to keep it as it is."

Does this mean the village is bowing to the inevitable after years of legal battles, several still working through the courts?

No, said Johnson, Bensenville isn't throwing in the towel. "We want to be proactive. We need to take steps to ensure the stability of property values."

And what about conflict of interest if the village president has a business in the TIF district under discussion?

The village president "has not participated in any meetings where this was discussed," Johnson said. Geils would not attend an upcoming Monday information meeting on the amendment and would recuse himself from votes, he added.

Who said tax increment financing was boring?

Booming business

It's a kindler, gentler sonic boom.

At least that's what experts predicted during a conference sponsored by the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission Friday in Rosemont.

Ever since the last Concorde was grounded, the aviation industry has been itching to produce more supersonic jets and has been bugging the Federal Aviation Administration to lift a ban instituted in 1973 because sonic booms were - you guessed it - too noisy.

Now the FAA has agreed to consider emerging new technology for quieter supersonic aircraft and is holding forums on the subject. During the ONCC's conference last week, industry engineers forecast that business jets will be the first airplanes to go supersonic.

Standing in a simulator created by Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., my eardrums were jolted by a recording of the traditional double boom of an airplane breaking the sound barrier. The next sound, of a next-generation supersonic aircraft, was a huge contrast - just like muffled thunder.

Less weight and an aerodynamic design are the keys to making a jet that's ear-friendly, Gulfstream engineers said.

Sounds easy enough, but don't book your flights. Carl Burleson, director of the FAA's environment and energy office, explained that "we're several years away from a conclusion on what is acceptable."

What's next

• Friday was the first day of the state's program giving free rides on public transit for low-income disabled individuals. Jim Watkins, co-chair of the Regional Transportation Authority's ADA Advisory Committee, was among the riders trying out the new system and reported no glitches.

"It was wonderful," Watkins said, adding he estimates saving about $40 a month.

To get a free-ride permit, individuals need to enroll in the state's Circuit Breaker program first. To qualify for Circuit Breaker, the income limits are the following: $22,218 or less for a single person; $29,480 or less for a household of two; and $36,740 for a household of three.

For information about Circuit Breaker, contact (800) 624-2459 or visit cbrx.il.gov.

Once you're enrolled with Circuit Breaker, you can register for a free rides permit. For registration locations in the suburbs, visit rtachicago.com/peoplewithdisabilitiesridefree or call 312-913-5414. Many registration sites require applicants to bring a photo.

• It's transit agency budget hearing season! Don't let Pace administrators sit alone in a room with only a reporter for company as was the case when I attended an Oct. 20 session. Pace heads out to Lake County on Wednesday for a budget hearing from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Waukegan Public Library, 128 N. County St., Waukegan.

• Drivers heading north on I-355 between Ogden Avenue and 75th Street will get the benefit of a fourth lane during the morning rush hour starting Monday. During off-peak hours it will be down to three lanes while construction is finished up.