Planning for a Project in the Distant Future
Joel Hood of the Chicago Tribune covered a serious issue of project development for an uncertain project in the distant future. The Peotone airport has not as yet received Federal Aviation Administration approval. Yet, planning for projects such as an airport takes years and frequently decades. The question is one of how far out can a project be planned and still be a Public Use? The issue is one of whether the government can acquire property via the condemnation process for a project that has no real certainty and no approvals? These are not easy questions to answer; especially when one has to utilize the planning process for generations ahead. A simple roadway can be started and completed in a few years. However, the new airports and major new roads take years and often decades to fairly proceed and protect society as a whole.
"Using eminent domain to take people's property for a project that has not been approved really concerns me. What's the rush?" asked state Sen. Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, the Senate Republican leader whose district includes parts of Will, Cook and DuPage counties. "Clearly the people behind the airport want it to move forward, but wanting it to move forward and moving it forward are two different things."
U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, raised similar concerns, saying, "If the state is going to pursue eminent domain acquisitions, it should first determine the airport plan and submit it to the FAA for approval."
Susan Shea, IDOT's director of aeronautics, said using eminent domain in this instance is a difficult decision. The state purchased about half of the roughly 4,400 acres it says it will need for the airport's first phase from families willing to sell. But Shea knows it's going to get tougher.
"I'm about to exhaust willing sellers, and in order to get this done we need to pursue condemnation," Shea said. "This isn't something I take lightly."
