Free Republic

Saying the review process is seriously flawed, U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald and U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde are calling for an investigation into the way Chicago and the Federal Aviation Administration are proceeding with the O'Hare Modernization Plan. In a letter released Sunday, the two Illinois legislators asked U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General Kenneth Mead to investigate several points, including: • Whether there's enough available airspace to accommodate the airport expansion. • Whether all of the city's and the FAA's relevant documents have been shared with interested parties. • Whether the FAA should evaluate the financial viability of the plan...

An appeals court will hear arguments today in the case of a former Chicago gang member who has been held as an enemy combatant for nearly 18 months in a terrorism probe. Jose Padilla's attorney, Donna Newman, says the high stakes of the arguments are clear every time she encounters people familiar with the case. She says many are amazed to learn that Padilla, who is a U.S. citizen, remains jailed without charges and access to a lawyer since he was picked up in May 2002 at O'Hare Airport, suspected of a role in a ''dirty bomb'' plot. A "dirty...

CHICAGO, 4:04 p.m. CDT August 11, 2003 - Some residents of the Edgewater neighborhood and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn assembled in Daley Plaza Monday to protest escalating property taxes in the community on Chicago's north lakefront. More than 20 homeowners attended the lunchtime rally, waiving placards reading "Taxed to Death" and "Hello High Taxes, Goodbye Economic Diversity and Affordable Housing" and called for reform of Cook County's property-tax system. Claire Tobin, executive director of the Edgewater Community Council, said her group has helped more than 700 property owners file appeals with the Cook County assessors office as a result of...

Gov. Blagojevich signed a bill today authorizing a $6.6 billion expansion of O’Hare Airport. ‘‘The expansion of O’Hare doesn’t just affect Chicago, it doesn’t just benefit northern Illinois, it doesn’t just benefit one or two carriers. By expanding O’Hare, all of us are lifted,’’ Blagojevich said. Mayor Daley said the plan will create ‘‘an airport for the 21st century’’ that will be paid for by users of O’Hare rather than taxpayers. Supporters said the project will mean more than 195,000 jobs and $19 billion in economic benefits for the state while maintaining O’Hare’s status as a national transportation hub. The...

The Kennedy Expressway at Lawrence Avenue was closed for three hours Sunday afternoon due to extreme flooding. (Chicago)—As of 2:30, there are 5,200 people without power, most on the north side and north suburbs. Power outages have been reported at: Irving and Oak Park Glencoe Vernon Hills Palatine Rolling Meadows Customer numbers reported out of power as of 1pm today: North Chicago 66 South Chicago 215 N E Suburbs 1200 I was on WBBM CBS radio with my firsthand experience. In my 50 years I've never seen anything like this storm. Our lawn was covered with hail from the size...

<p>CHICAGO (AP) --  Hundreds of passengers at O'Hare International Airport had to be re-screened early Monday after security guards noticed that a metal detector had been unplugged, police said.</p> <p>Police were called around 8:20 a.m. to help with crowd control as passengers in part of Terminal 3 were forced to go back through security, Officer Thomas Donegan said. Donegan said the metal detector may have been out of service for 40 minutes.</p>