Demolition begins for O'Hare airport expansion

It took years for Chicago to reach the point where it could raze a small Bensenville plaza Wednesday but only minutes for two backhoes to rip chunks out of the building now part of O'Hare expansion.

Bricks, wood and roofing smashed to the ground as the city embarked on its first day of demolition of about 600 homes and businesses near York and Irving Park roads in what used to be Bensenville. Chicago owns all but three properties in the area.

Former neighborhoods, shops and businesses will give way to a runway and relocations of Irving Park Road, the Union Pacific Railroad and a drainage ditch. It's all part of Chicago's ambitious plan to build a western terminal at O'Hare International Airport and six parallel runways intended to reduce congestion.

Bensenville was locked in protracted legal battles with Chicago over condemnations but reached a settlement in November for $16 million.

New Village President Frank Soto, who defeated former Village President and longtime expansion foe John Geils last spring, said the litigation was bleeding the town's coffers and ignoring the inevitable.

"It's sad this had to occur, but we're also ready to undertake the next chapter in our history," Soto said.

Part of the deal with Chicago includes environmental mitigation during demolition ranging from air monitors to hosing down properties as they're razed to reduce dust. Work should be done by the end of September.

Construction at O'Hare this year should employ more than 1,000 people, Chicago Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino said. Projects include paving both ends of a new runway, bisected by St. Johannes Cemetery, whose owners are fighting condemnation in court.

Funding for the expansion, especially the western terminal, is a concern with both United and American Airlines who have objected to the city raising rental rates and landing fees to pay back loans.

"We're committed to building the entire project," Andolino said. "We'll continue to work with our airline partners and I'm confident we'll reach an agreement and move forward."

Soto said the $16 million was essential to replenish Bensenville's reserves, which were down to less than $700,000 instead of the requisite level of about $7 million, plus pay back loans the village took out to buy properties in the acquisition area. The court fight alone cost up to $10 million, he noted.

Now it's time to "retool and re-brand the village," Soto said, adding Bensenville is benefiting from $1 million a year in Federal Aviation Administration grants to spur economic development related to the airport project.

Longtime Bensenville resident Chris Garris has opposed the airport project and acquisition of properties. "I didn't want expansion to come," she said.

Now, however, she's moving on and hoping something positive will come out of it. "It was inevitable," Garris said.

The first teardown occurred at 439 E. Irving Park Road, once the site of a hot dog stand, two businesses and a laundry.