Senators’ work was good for all
You cannot watch the news lately without concluding that relentless partisanship is poisoning our national dialogue. On the deficit, every few weeks both parties posture and wait for the other to blink before passing yet another short-term spending bill. On gas prices, they agree on only two things. One, gas prices are a problem. Two, it’s the other party’s fault.
So I was thrilled to read that Sens. Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk had worked together, along with the city of Chicago, the airlines and the FAA, to save a critically important infrastructure project for Chicago’s future — O’Hare modernization. The O’Hare Modernization Program is arguably the most important Chicago infrastructure project since reversing the river.
O’Hare is the economic cornerstone of Chicago, and generates 450,000 jobs and $38 billion annually in economic activity. But, by 2004, O’Hare’s obsolete runway configuration was causing so many delays that the FAA imposed mandatory flight caps, threatening Chicago’s economic future.
The O’Hare Modernization Program was designed to remedy this problem. So far, it has produced one new runway, extended another, and a second new runway is under construction. It has also put thousands of people to work.
But the worldwide recession hit the airlines hard. United and American Airlines, which pay for most construction at O’Hare, refused to approve more. As Chicago and the airlines exchanged lawsuits, Senators Durbin and Kirk took action. As a result of their work, Chicago and the airlines will stay out of court, and construction of a new southern runway will begin immediately.
This is how government should work. Senator Durbin wasn’t elected to represent the Democratic Party, nor was Senator Kirk elected to represent the Republican Party. They were both elected to represent the people of Illinois. Washington, D.C., often makes many people forget that basic truth. That isn’t the case with Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk, and today I am proud to call both my senator.
Michael Morgan
Deerfield