Jul 26, 2007 11:47 pm US/Central
City Rips Up Trees In Suburb For O'Hare Expansion
City Wanted To Start Tearing Down Bensenville Buildings But Judge Put Halt To Demolitions
CBS 2's Jay Levine and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Chicago crews ripped up trees in Bensenville Thursday after a judge ruled buildings could not be torn down until the environmental effects are assessed.
CBS
Demolition projects to make way for the expansion at O'Hare Airport were ordered to stop Thursday, but city crews ripped up the land and trees anyway in northwest suburban Bensenville.
As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports, it is now 482 days, just over a year, until a grassy field in the suburbs will be covered in 2 ½ feet of asphalt and concrete to make room for a runway. The half mile extension to a runway has been shortened for the 32 days contractors have been given to finish the job.
"We're up against a time clock, and every minute matters," said site manager Alan Dadian.
The City of Chicago can't demolish vacant buildings it owns in Bensenville to make way for the $15 billion O'Hare International Airport expansion project before conducting environmental testing, a judge ruled.
DuPage County Judge Kenneth Popejoy said Wednesday the city needs to conduct a study of possible hazards on the nearly 400 vacant properties before the project can move forward. He said he wants to make sure toxic materials like asbestos won't be released during demolition.
"I am not going to risk the residents of Bensenville and the other residents in the surrounding area," Popejoy said.
Bensenville officials had sought a preliminary injunction against the demolition, which Popejoy granted. But he also ruled that the properties owned by Chicago aren't subject to local regulations, emphasizing Bensenville's lack of authority to stop the project.
Without the special access CBS 2 got Thursday, you can't see how much work has already been done here – runways built and earth moved – or how close the disputed property is just across the fence in Bensenville.
That is where airport workers were Thursday morning when city crews were clearing trees from the land. What upsets the Village of Bensenville is less than 24 hours earlier, a judge ordered the city to halt its demolition work here due to environmental concerns.
"We're horrified," said Bensenville Village manager James Johnson. "This is exactly what we went into federal court yesterday to prevent."
"He asked us not to demolish and we did not demolish there is no demolition of any structure, decks, we did not demolish," Rosemarie Andolino said. "We just maintained, securing our property.
Andolino, the O'Hare Modernization Director, is in charge of bringing the multi-billion dollar project in on time and on budget. Delays due to disputes with neighboring suburbs, she says, have cost more than $250 million. Most have been resolved. The new northern runway, waiting to be paved, was once the site of 50 homes and business in Des Plaines. They were purchased and razed without a problem.
Andolino says the project will start paying dividends by cutting flight delays as soon as the first runways are finished. Bensenville says the project will never justify its cost, and is sparing no expense to try to block it.
The FAA has said the O'Hare expansion project will reduce delays at the airport by 68 percent.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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