Five teams of architects make short-list to design the new O'Hare Airport

On the day he pulled the plug on his own re-election bid, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he wanted to pick an architect to design his $8.7 billion O'Hare Airport expansion project.

He made that one of four things he wanted to accomplish before leaving office in May, along with finishing the Lakefront bike and running paths, nailing down an O'Hare express contract with Elon Musk and expanding the international baccalaureate program at Chicago Public Schools.

The selection of an architect to design the new O'Hare can't be scratched of the mayor's list just yet. But it's getting closer to that point.

Five teams of world-renowned architects were notified Tuesday that they have made the city's short list.

The teams include: Fentress-EXP-Brook-Garza Joint Venture Partners; Foster Epstein Moreno JV Joint Venture Partners; Santiago Calatrava LLC; Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM); and Studio ORD Joint Venture Partners.

The five finalists will move on to a "request for proposals" process that requires them to submit a "design model that will be showcased at various locations throughout the city."

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