Letter to the Editor,

Just before Thanksgiving, the State of Illinois sent 57 letters to Peotone area residents threatening to use eminent domain to forcibly take their property if the residents did not immediately start negotiating with the State. The State plans to spend $26 million for 2285 acres of farm and residential property. These farmers and homeowners do not want to sell. This is a grave violation of basic American values and of eminent domain.

The FAA has not approved a master plan for the Peotone airport; in fact, the State has not yet submitted one, and the FAA decision is two years away. The airlines have all refused to come to Peotone and the airline industry is in a shambles. The State of Illinois is broke, and in fact, 82% of the school districts are in the red.

We believe that state funded studies purporting a need for Peotone are fraudulent. Commissioned during Governor George Ryan’s administration and prior to it, consultants produced the results that the corruption ridden Illinois State Government wanted.

The proposed Peotone airport is about money and power, not transportation. The solution to aviation congestion is as follows: expansion and full utilization of O'Hare and the Gary, Rockford and Milwaukee airports; state-of-the-art air-traffic technology; pricing away from peak flying times; increased teleconferencing; fast trains connecting Midwestern cities; and, if all else fails, having some connecting flights take place in other cities.

We urge those who care about justice and the principals upon which this country was founded to write Governor Blagojevich at 100 W. Randolph, Chicago, IL. 60601, and ask him not to trample on the rights of Peotone farmers and homeowners.

George Ochsenfeld

President of STAND (Shut This Airport Nightmare Down) Monee, Illinois (708) 534-7319

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