Commentary
By Gary Kopycinski
Some of you aren’t gonna like this. I hope many of you do.
On Saturday, April 21, beginning at 9 a.m., the South Suburban Action Conference and Gamaliel of Metro Chicago, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will hold a "symbolic blessing and ground breaking of the land to support building the South Suburban Airport."
I plan to be there, and I’m bringing a shovel.
You are welcome to bring a shovel also. The public is invited.
Other invited guests include Governor Pat Quinn (I’ll bring a second shovel for the governor just in case he doesn’t normally travel with one), Ann Schneider, Secretary of IDOT, State Senator Toi Hutchinson (always on the side of what is right and just), State Representatives Will Davis, Al Riley, and Thaddeus M. Jones, and South Suburban Mayors and Managers.
It’s time for all the movers and shakers to get off the pot on this one.
Standing yesterday at the forum in Park Forest, listening to talk of all the Trauma I and II centers in the far north and western suburbs of Chicago, personally witnessing the plethora of businesses in the far northern suburbs, which apparently never saw nor felt the Great Recession — after all that, I now know to the core of my being the time is now for this airport. Time to drive businesses south of I-80. Time for the major business community to discover the wealth in Chicago’s South Suburbs.
It’s time for the airport. This one, financed by a Canadian company with the backing of the Canadian government, the ALNAC solution, is the right move. It’s time.
Why do some in Joliet object, preferring a taxpayer-built airport instead?
Because then they will control patronage jobs, and instead of well-qualified people working to construct and staff this exciting new venture, friends and family members will be given created jobs that they can show up to, or not.
The time for patronage is past. The time for debate is past.
The time for action is now.
Bring your shovel and join us as we break ground at the site of the proposed South Suburban Airport in Peotone.
Give the "movers and shakers" a gentle nudge — or whap! — with your shovel.
Let this airport fly at last.
For more information on this event, call 708.872.5111 or email [email protected]
Location for the ground breaking: 5701 West Eagle Lake Road, Peotone, IL.
Gary Kopycinski is a Village Trustee in Park Forest and a high school educator for over two decades. His views are his own. He can be reached here.
