Meig's Field... Maybe a small opening?

 

 I saw this in the news. I have no opinion on specific politicians or ballots or spefics like that anywhere, much less Chicago, but I would like to see Meigs reopened because GA needs airports reopened when possible - that's sort of the premise of the 2005 Documentary, One Six Right(1) and I'm personally biased for another reason:

It's ironic to note that for the thousands (tens of thousands?) of PC flight simmers like myself, Meigs field's demise was a sad turn of events as for decades, it was the default field in subLOGIC's and later Microsoft's Flight Simulator.  As such, it ironically has a small, but real worldwide emotional appeal.
 
Meigs was chosen initially I imagine due to a preference by Bruce Artwick, the application's initial developer, who went to school at the Unversity of Illinois in Champaign, IL, in the 1970's(2).  On the now-primitive version I played with back in the day, the only ILS in that region was, if I recall correctly, was 32R KCMI(3)

I did live in the Chicago area with my family in the early 1980's, but never drove or flew around the area in a GA fashion as I was only aged 10-14 then.

 

Greg Long

ch 105 Hillsboro / 7S3

EAA  member since 1992

 

(1) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475994/

(2) http://fshistory.simflight.com/fsh/artwick.htm

(3) http://www.airnav.com/airport/KCMI 

 

 (Apologies for line-spacing problems, I do not know what the problem is with the text-editing box, but if anyone has suggestions, please PM me, I'm all ears! -GL)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't have a clue about Chicago politics, but I think it would be awesome if Meigs could be re-built and called Daley field, just to cheese off the idiot.

While it would cost an incredible amount of money to rebuilt Meigs (since there is virtually nothing left of it) I would love to see them do it just so it would stick in Daley's craw.  I anxiously await the day he's officially out of office so I can go back to Chicago again!

Cheers!

Joe

The name will change but the politics will remain the same. 

The anointed one for the next mayor of Chicago appears to be Rahm Emmanuel, so I would think the only change would be the stationery.

Sorry guys, it ain't gonna happen anytime soon.  Sir King Richard the Second has left the City of Chicago with a $550 million deficit in this year's budget.  The O'Hare expansion needs another billion to stay on track.  The Meigs Field travesty is so far down the list of priorities for the locals in comparison to crime, corruption, economy, parking rates, schools, etc., that it could just as well be off the radar until next century!  The city is broke (in more ways than one).  I hate to bear bad news, but Meigs is gone.

On the other hand, Cleveland is still happy.  Even after Daley leaves, Chicago still will be the Mistake on the Lake! 

Sign me as

"disgruntled in Illinois"!

The idea of Rahm brings to mind an old expression, "Don't wish for a new king, the old king is bad enough!"

Having grown up 65 miles north of Chicago, I am familiar with the political climate of that city.  The idea that any candidate for the mayor's office would bring up an old issue that has such a narrow impact on the average voter is quite frankly, absurd!  Chicago is still a city whose politics is run by a "machine".  The local Democratic party controls that machine and will be running that city for years to come.  If you have spent any time driving around that town you will see a clean, well run community with a lot of positives over a lot of US cities.  Remember this is one of the largest cities in the country and does have all the problems that big cities have.  I don't like to generalize, but the audience for this blog is hardly representative of the average city of Chicago voter.  

The idea that any new mayor would be receptive to the idea of ripping up a park to replace it with a small airport on the lakefront is somewhere between zero and none!

The big issues that will drive this election and the policies of whoever wins, are the same issues that are driving local elections all over the country.  Big deficits, lost revenues, crime, and taxes all will drive policy for years to come.  We lost Meigs, get over it and move on, this conversation is a waste of energy!

Joe    

Joe, you are positively optimistic regarding Chicago and Meigs field!

Pieces of Chicago that the average tourist sees are clean and pretty, but a lot is still run down and in a bad state of decay.  Downtown and lakefront look nice, but if you get away from the moneyed areas it gets ugly in a hurry.  Crime is a mess, corruption is in the daily news, and the citizens have turned their backs on what used to be Meigs.  There have been a few concerts there, so there will be little public outcry to bring back the good old days.

I live 25 miles west of downtown, and ride the train into the Loop every day.  It is depressing!  I have been to Cleveland's lakefront airport, and have seen an airshow there.  Cleveland does it right.  Chicago has displaced Cleveland as the mistake on the lake.

However AOPA President Craig Fuller says he will try. From AOPA online Sept 9. 

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2010/100909meigs.html?WT.adv=adv1

 

 

 

I think we should put up some runway lights around the park and make it a grass field!  Then they will wanted it paved and voila! Megis is back!  Or just get wayne mackey to bring his super cub on down and land it on the park that is there.

The runway is gone, and in its place is a grass field, bike trails, a new building east of the terminal building, and at the north end of the field the "Charter One" pavilion for concerts.  Despite Chicago's budget woes, Daley did manage to get funds, donations, etc. to build within the Meigs runway area.  It will be tough to dislodge what has been built.

A better plan might be to convince some influential Chicago pols the benefit of two or three small airports in other areas of the city.  2000 feet maybe left at Meigs, 1400 feet by Chicago River south of Roosevelt Road, 3000+ feet "brown-field sites near Lake Calumet or Bedford park, etc.

 

 

I am an AOPA member and did get Craig Fuller's remarks, but you should remember that he was a GOP lobbyist before he took over at AOPA.  He is well positioned to help us in Washington, but his influence in Chicago politics is limited to those of us who fly and vote.  The "park" is within the Chicago city limits and the GOP hasn't had much luck there since the election of Mayor Cermack back in the 1930's, before most of us where born!  

Ried has the most realistic ideas if we could find enough "influential Chicago pols" to jump on this "opportunity".  I don't expect to see a runway on the old Meigs site in my lifetime.  Glad I can say I did log a landing there before the bulldozers showed up!

Joe

I am outside of Cook County, with political leaning to the right side of the Republicans, so I do not know any influential politicians in Chicago!

But I would think in the brown fields of some of the disadvantaged neighborhoods, an ecomonic case might be made that an airport would add opportunity and money to people that need both.

Ried,

I think you have a point.  I watch WGN noonday news almost every day on cable, mainly for the great weather report.  Anyway, there was a short blurb on an alderman who is raising the issue of re-incarnating Meigs to improve the economy.  I think he is the token GOP spokesman in the election.  I wonder if  Craig Fuller had a bit of "inside baseball" information on this when he sent out the AOPA e-mail?

Joe

I would love to see Meigs reopened, I never had a chance to fly there and would absolutely love to go... But I think this is a bit of a pipe dream.

As of today their are only two candidates, a state assemblyman and a city alderman, that have filed papers.  There is a fair amount of political maneuvering among several big names with money and clout.  The press is speculating on Rahm Emanuel, the President's Chief of Staff at the White House.  He has been pretty clear on wanting that job, sometime.  On today's WGN News at Noon, they reported that he has had a sit down with Jesse Jackson who is also considered a candidate as well as Jackson's wife Sandie.  In the end, the current Mayor will have some say...I doubt Rahm will quit his current job to run without the endorsement of the political machine that runs the city, i.e., the current Mayor.  

An interesting note, WGN TV has a poll on the Meigs issue and it's running 62% to 38% in favor of rebuilding Meigs!  KEEP IN MIND, that this poll is open to anyone who can sign-in on-line.  The actual election is only for registered voters in the City of Chicago.

As of right now, I'm sticking with my original post and won't bet on landing at Meigs in my lifetime.  Then again, like most people I'm not always right, so everybody on this blog should hope I'm wrong...maybe we'll luck out!

Joe

Joe, my mind agrees with you on Meigs re-opening, my heart hopes you are wrong.  Between the candidates you mentioned, MAYBE Jackson Jr. will have an interest in placing a small airfield on the south side, especially if trhe Tuskogee Airmen can make a good case for it.  The Tuskogee Airmen and EAA were doing Young Eagles at Meigs, which did attract some inner city youth.

 

 http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/meigs_airport_field_chicago_open_203302-1.html

 

 

 

 

This will take a lot of work, but if Meigs can be re-opened, it would be a historically precedent-setting action.  It's likely up to EAA/AOPA/GA-community members to keep the story in the headlines through sharing the story on social networking sites, with mainstream journalists, etc.  Come to think of it, I'll post to PBS News Hour's Facebook page and re-tweet this.

 

 

 

Best,

 

 

 

Greg Long - EAA105

 http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/meigs_airport_field_chicago_open_203302-1.html

(reposting in plain text given respectfully, I don't trust this buggy-beta-text-edit UI... rubber-buggy-beta-bumpers?)