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CBS 2's Derrick Blakley and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ― It might have been the last obstacle for the O'Hare expansion project – a federal appeals court ruled Thursday that 1,300 grave sites located next to O'Hare Airport can be relocated.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that laws protecting freedom of religion do not forbid the city from condemning the 158-year-old St. Johannes Cemetery in Bensenville, which is owned by St. John's United Church of Christ. The church and the municipal governments of Bensenville and Elk Grove Village had asked the court to block expansion.

In the ruling, the appeals court agreed with the decision of a lower court, as well as a smaller appeals court panel a year ago.

The mayor of Elk Grove Village says his municipality plans to appeal.

Attorneys for the cemetery had argued that moving the gravestones would violate the church's right to freedom of religion, since those in charge of the cemetery believe the bodies must not be moved until resurrected upon the second coming of Christ.

But the appeals court disagreed, saying moving a ceremony does not infringe on anyone's ability to practice his or her religion.

"Some cemeteries are affiliated with religious sects, others are not; even graves in cemeteries with a religious affiliation may be relocated because of natural necessity, for public health concerns, after a hurricane or flood, or for many other private or public reasons," the appeals court wrote. "We conclude there is nothing inherently religious about cemeteries or graves, and the act of relocating them thus does not on its face infringe upon a religious practice."

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson says the long-running legal fight led by Elk Grove Village, Bensenville and the church against the will continue with additional appeals. A separate appeal is pending before another appeals court in Washington, D.C.

"I just cannot believe that anyone with any sense of humanity, I mean even if they're not a spiritual person, would disturb all of these people," said Arlene Bensen.

Bensen calls the court decision sacrilege; Mayor Richard M. Daley calls it progress.

"We think it's important that we keep moving on in regards to the expansion of O'Hare International Airport," Daley said.

Residents whose family members are buried there say they're disheartened by the decision and plan to fight to preserve the graves.

"When you lay someone to rest, that ground becomes consecrated, and they are to rest there until the day of resurrection," said Bob Sell, a cemetery proponent.

Daley disagrees.

"You have to understand, they do this all over the country," he said. "This is not unusual in the transportation field, whether for a highway, roads."

Officials with the city of Chicago say they are still reviewing the ruling.

Opponents of the movement of the bodies got hope from dissenting Judge Kenneth Ripple, who rote that by relocating the cemetery "St. John's would be coerced by the Government's action into violating [its] religious beliefs."

Attorney Joe Karaganis says the ruling should disturb all people of faith.

"Once you've taken away protection from this little cemetery, you've established a precedent that can be applied to every synagogue, mosque cathedral, you name it in the state," he said. "And that's a very dangerous activity."

A spokeswoman for the city of Bensenville says officials there are upset and are studying their options.

The $15 billion 440-acre expansion would require the city of Chicago to buy and raze 2,600 homes and 200 businesses while relocating 1,300 tombs from a church cemetery. The goal in large part is to replace the current runways, which intersect diagonally, with parallel runways that would facilitate more planes taking off at the same time.

The city has been arguing for O'Hare expansion since 1969, and in recent years it has been moving quickly. Much of the land the city needs to buy in suburban communities has already been purchased.

But the case involving the cemetery may still go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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