Cleared-for-takeoff O’Hare modernization program will boost our economy
O’Hare International Airport is critical to the competitive strength of our businesses and the productivity of our workers.
O’Hare is the “most connected airport” in the United States, serving 37 million passengers last year. It also is the #1 airport by cargo value, processing nearly $300 billion in freight annually.
In 2018, Chicago and its airline partners agreed to the historic, multi-year O’Hare 21 modernization program to deliver the first major capital improvements to the airport in more than 25 years. To date, the program has built and extended runways, expanded terminals, provided technology upgrades, and renovated pedestrian tunnels that previously leaked during heavy rains.
Five years into the 15-year program, two signature projects remain that will create 25% more capacity and turn O’Hare into a modern facility that outshines its peers. The most essential is a new Global Terminal that will connect domestic and international flights in one location and add more than 30 gates. The second key project is the construction of two satellite concourses that will provide 1.3 million square feet in gate and amenity space.
While United Airlines and American Airlines raised concerns about the program’s cost late last year, City of Chicago officials announced a plan to change the order of construction and “fast-track” the Global Terminal with engineering and design savings. Moving forward with the entire O’Hare 21 program had the public support of U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and nearly all Congress members representing suburban residents. After months of negotiations, the airlines agreed to the revised plan earlier this month.
This should come as welcome news to residents of the Chicago metropolitan area. New research from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute released this month reveals that completing the O’Hare 21 program will improve economic development prospects, public budgets, and travel times in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Finishing the entire program will generate $18 billion in economic activity and create almost 100,000 local jobs by 2033, or 10,000 jobs per year. This includes more than 5,000 good-paying careers for skilled tradespeople to annually perform work on the airport as well as related public works, such as the I-190 project to improve traffic flow.
And the O’Hare 21 modernization program will have long-lasting, positive effects well after its construction phase. As the facility handles more passengers, it will produce more than half a billion every year in economic output for the Chicago area and create more permanent jobs than the combined number of employees currently at Midway Airport and Chicago Rockford International Airport.
And even if you have a fear of flying, these investments will deliver value to you as a taxpayer. The modernization program will add tens of millions of dollars per year to state and local coffers every year during both the construction phase and beyond.
Finally, it must be noted that the infrastructure plan already is having a real impact. Back in 2018, the share of O’Hare’s flights that were on-time was below the national average, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Since runway improvements were completed, O’Hare’s on-time performance has improved by 3% relative to its peers, and it is now outperforming the national average — resulting in 117,000 more passengers arriving at their destinations on-time.
The data clearly shows that finishing the job will ensure that O’Hare maintains its status as the most-connected airport in the nation, improve O’Hare’s ability to efficiently serve both residents and visitors from around the world, and turn O’Hare into a first-class facility.
This month’s agreement to clear the O’Hare 21 modernization plan for takeoff will deliver the best possible return on investment for passengers, taxpayers, and the regional economy.
• Frank Manzo IV, MPP, is an economist at the nonpartisan Illinois Economic Policy Institute.