Doing enough on O'Hare noise? DuPage board candidates debate

Last month, a DuPage County Board candidate blasted his opponent and the county for doing nothing to address airplane noise from O'Hare International Airport.

Now Rolly Waller is criticizing the board's attempt to do something.

Waller, a Democrat, continues to make O'Hare expansion a campaign issue in his race against District 1 incumbent county board member Paul Fichtner, an Elmhurst Republican.

The Bensenville resident says the amount of jet noise over towns near O'Hare has increased since the opening of a new runway in October 2013 shifted air traffic to an east/west flow.

But after accusing the county board of inaction last month, Waller has nothing positive to say about board Chairman Dan Cronin creating an ad hoc committee on airport noise mitigation and appointing Fichtner to be the panel's chairman.

"It's a political stunt," Waller said Monday. "That's all it is. They should have done something several months ago."

Fichtner fired back by saying the committee was formed because of a skyrocketing number of noise complaints from residents - not the Nov. 4 election.

"Shame on him for making this a political issue," Fichtner said. "We're responding in a timely fashion to the needs of the residents."

"I'm not even thinking about the election," he said. "This is about getting relief for the residents and seeing what the county can do to accomplish that."

The seven-member committee has been directed by Cronin to provide insight and direction on the issue of O'Hare noise.

"The DuPage County Board has a history of working with our municipal partners, the city of Chicago and the FAA on issues related to expansion at O'Hare Airport," Cronin said in a statement. "Noise and changing flight patterns impacting DuPage residents' quality of life make it imperative that our county board assume a leadership role again as we coordinate and seek remedies for these concerns."

Fichtner said he was appointed chairman of the panel because he's the most senior board member representing District 1, which includes all or portions of Addison, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Elmhurst, Glendale Heights, Itasca, Lombard, Roselle, Villa Park and Wood Dale.

The ad hoc committee, which will meet for first time later this month, will work to get accurate noise monitoring data, according to Fichtner. The county then will coordinate with municipalities, noise groups and neighborhood organizations to develop ways to address the issue.

Waller insists the panel is "too little too late."

"All of a sudden, three weeks before the election, they're going to do something about the noise," he said. "Where were they a couple years ago when we really needed this?"

Waller is pitching his own plan to address the noise problem. It involves asking state lawmakers to enact legislation establishing additional sound monitoring.

If extra monitoring determines that airplanes are generating noise beyond legal limits, Waller said the state should fine airlines that violate noise regulations and use revenue from those fines to soundproof houses and assist homeowners who want to sell.

Fichtner, however, says Chicago owns and controls O'Hare and the FAA controls the skies above the airport. The county's effort acknowledges those facts, he said.