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• 1 media/EXH_RMD16_03_0091_0026_005_pg1.jpg 2020-04-24T15:50:38-05:00 FOCUS ON: Meigs Field (Northerly Island Park) 73 The controversy overwhat to do with Meigs Field Airport and how Mayor Daley resolved it. plain 2021-01-25T13:17:16-06:00

  Expanding parkland sometimes involved difficult decisions. One example was Daley’s advocacy for a new park at Northerly Island near downtown. This land was the site of Meigs Field, a small airport, which would have to be dismantled. In one speech, the mayor linked his plans for Northerly Island to his larger project of expanding Lake Shore Drive and beautifying the nearby museum campus.

  The lakefront is one of our most valuable resources and it's meant to be enjoyed by all of Chicago's residents. Our goal is to open the lakefront up for our families and children to enjoy, as well as the many guests our city welcomes each year.

  See the plans for Northerly Island Park:
  
  Others, however, disagreed with the mayor, citing the convenience of having an airport near downtown. For several years, neither side succeeded in convincing the other.
  
  The impasse lasted for several years, until Monday, March 31, 2003. At around midnight, Mayor Daley secretly ordered trucks to plow six large X's onto the landing strip at Meigs Field, effectively destroying the runway.
  Sheila O’Grady, Daley’s chief of staff (2000-2005), recalls the mayor feared Meigs Field posed a security threat in light of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks fewer than two years prior:

  Some disagreed with the mayor’s decision:

  John McCarron, columnist and urban planning expert:
  Lester Crown, Chicago business person:
  Andrew McKenna, Chicago area businessperson, explains the reaction of the business community:
  Jackie Heard, the mayor’s press secretary (1997-2011), recalls tough questions from reporters, but also remembers the appeal of Daley’s decision:

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