Aug 4, 2006 7:22 pm US/Central
Appeals Court: O'Hare Expansion Can Go Forward
Lawsuit Stemmed From Proposed Demolition Of Cemetery
The STNG Wire contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (CBS) ―
A U.S. Appeals Court has ruled that the City of Chicago may go forward with the expansion plan for O'Hare International Airport.
The ruling came down on Friday in Washington D.C. It centered around the 157-year-old St. Johannes Cemetery in Bensenville, owned by St. John's United Church of Christ, which the city has planned to condemn for airport expansion.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports opponents of expansion have one more hope to stop the project.
Descendents of St. Johannes Cemetery, right next to O'Hare, have filed a case in the Chicago U.S. Court of Appeals. They don't believe the remains of their loved ones should have to be moved.
The Village of Bensenville had originally filed a lawsuit to halt O'Hare expansion on the grounds that condemning the cemetery would amount to an unconstitutional violation of the expression of religion.
But in a 2-1 vote Friday, the Appeals Court ruled that the city went through proper procedures and can go forward with the plan.
Word of City Hall's latest legal victory reached the executive director of the O'Hare Modernization Project as Rosemarie Andolino was surveying work on a new runway scheduled to open in 2008.
"We're extremely pleased with the court's decision today. (It) confirms what we knew all along – that this program, it continues to move forward," she said.
The role of the 157-year-old cemetery in the ruling was especially significant. Two of the three judges on the court of appeals were not persuaded by arguments that the O'Hare expansion should be blocked because it requires moving Christian graves, putting an undue burden on religious expression.
Still, opponents focused on the fact that one of the three judges did agree.
"We are optimistic that as we go forward, we will ultimately be successful and beat this bad plan that does not work, that's destructive to religious rights in this country and to the people's rights in Bensenville and Elk Grove Village," Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said.
Thirty-seven years after this battle began, O'Hare expansion is moving faster than ever. About 1.2 million cubic yards of earth has already been moved. About half of the 433 acres the city needs to buy in suburban communities has already been purchased.
But both sides say the fight is not over yet.
"This is a 15-round championship fight. This is round 13," Johnson said.
"We've been making progress on this program and moving forward full construction," Andolino said.
Ultimately, look for the U.S. Supreme Court to have to rule on this in the next several years.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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