City looks for loan to fix O'Hare

A $1 billion bond sale proposal to keep the modernization of O'Hare International Airport moving forward passed a Chicago city finance committee Tuesday and is expected to go to a vote today before the full council.

The loan will go toward paying for Chicago's plan to build six parallel runways at O'Hare, a western terminal and two air-traffic-control towers estimated at about $8 billion. So far, the city has extended one runway and built a new one at the noth end of the airport along with an air-traffic-control tower. It's working on construction of a third but a legal battle over a cemetery in the middle of the runway is continuing.

The expansion is facing pushback from O'Hare's anchor airlines, United and American, which object to the construction of a western terminal as part of the modernization. The airlines support the parallel runway program, but call the new terminal unnecessary.

Fees levied on tickets will help pay back the loan.