O'Hare feud grows with worker's arrest

The tug of war between Bensenville and Chicago over expanding O'Hare International Airport led to an arrest Friday.

Bensenville police arrested an unidentified man who they say boarded up houses that Chicago owns in the expansion zone. The man was hired by Chicago to do the work.

O'Hare's legal counsel went to the police department but was not arrested, officials said.

The incident happened late Friday afternoon while the worker was boarding up four vacant houses on Lincoln Street.

Bensenville police told the man to stop, citing the village's nuisance ordinance. But O'Hare officials instructed the worker to finish the job. It ended with the man's arrest.

O'Hare Modernization Program spokesman Roderick Drew reacted by saying Chicago has a right to board up the homes in the interest of security. At least two vacant homes were vandalized in the neighborhood last week, he said.

But Bensenville leaders aren't buying it.

They characterize the boarding up of houses as a ploy to frighten residents in the neighborhood.

"It was an attempt to intimidate the existing homeowners, to push them out of the neighborhood," said Joe Karaganis, an attorney for Bensenville who has been fighting against the expansion for decades.

Karaganis said that if Chicago has a legitimate security reason for the board-ups, it needs to discuss it with the village.

Not all the homes that were being boarded up have been vandalized. Still, O'Hare officials insist that it's a precautionary security measure.

Chicago, which has acquired more than 400 Bensenville properties to make way for an O'Hare expansion, plans to send out workers to board up at least four more homes Monday.

"We intend to enforce the law," Karaganis said. "And if that's what they plan on doing, that's unfortunate."

Bensenville Police Chief Frank Kosman said he could not talk to the media and referred questions to the village manager. The village manager referred all comment to village officials.