New ruling could delay O'Hare demolition for months

Though a DuPage judge's order expires Wednesday, Chicago officials will not start bulldozing 600 Bensenville properties for O'Hare expansion anytime soon.

The Second District Appellate Court in Elgin late last week barred any on-site activity until the outcome of the village's appeal, which may take several more months.

Last summer, DuPage Circuit Judge Kenneth Popejoy issued an injunction prohibiting demolition until Chicago conducted a thorough environmental study to quell safety concerns about the potential release of dangerous chemicals.

On Aug. 7, Popejoy lifted the injunction after a lengthy court hearing regarding the study's results. The judge did, though, give Bensenville officials a temporary reprieve days later in granting a 30-day stay of any on-site activity so that the village could appeal his ruling to a higher court.

The judge's stay would have expired Wednesday had the appellate court not intervened.

Chicago owns 554 of the 605 homes, commercial and industrial properties on the village's east side, where a new southern runway is planned.

Nearly all of the properties are vacant in the 300-acre area east of York Road, along Irving Park Road, which equals about 15 percent of the village. Some of the families that remain filed suit against Chicago, which sparked the recent court action.

Chicago officials oppose the delays. Besides a negative impact on the construction scheduling, they argue the vacant properties create a local safety hazard, with more than 250 incidents of break-ins and vandalism.

Bensenville has long fought O'Hare expansion. Critics such as Village President John Geils argue it isn't ever going to happen because of the shrinking of the airline industry amid soaring fuel costs, flight cuts and passenger fare hikes.

Geils also questions whether the city can even pay for its massive $15 billion plan. He argues the properties should not be razed until Chicago can prove it has the money.

But Chicago officials say the O'Hare Modernization Program is crucial to the airport economy and will reduce flight delays and create new jobs. The project, aimed at completion in 2014, two years before Chicago hopes to host the Summer Olympic Games, includes three new runways and other airport improvements.