Senator John McCain
grumbles about Amtrak using $25 billion in federal subsidies for
30 years yet has no qualms about paying for a new airport in
Chicago - an airport that will cost infinitely more money than
passenger rail service!
Friday, June 15, 2001
U.S. set to pay for airport expansion, McCain says
BY LYNN SWEET AND FRAN SPIELMAN
The Chicago (IL) Sun Times
Sen. John McCain said that if Mayor Daley and Gov. Ryan
"stop acting in
a parochial fashion" and make a deal on Chicago area airport
expansion,
Congress will help bankroll the costs.
"If there is an agreement in Illinois amongst all those
parties, and
they ask for money to implement those plans, you would see that
money in a
New York minute," McCain told the Sun-Times Thursday.
Lack of funding has been a main roadblock to development of a
third
Chicago airport in Peotone, south of Chicago in Will County,
because no airlines
have agreed to fly there.
In Chicago today, McCain is scheduled to lead a hearing of the
Senate
Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. He said the
hearing is
designed to turn up the heat on local officials.
Meanwhile, Daley said Thursday that he will not allow the
lakefront
Meigs Field to be used as a bargaining chip when he sits down to
negotiate
with Ryan over whether to expand a clogged O'Hare Airport and
develop an
airfield near Peotone.
McCain said he thinks O'Hare and a new airport are needed.
"If it is necessary to build another airport, the mayor of
Chicago
should agree. If it is necessary to expand Chicago O'Hare, then
the governor
should agree. If it is necessary to build a new airport, the
airlines should
not try to block it," said McCain, ranking Republican on the
transportation
committee.
With the Chicago bottleneck creating a problem for the nation,
Ryan does
not want Meigs to close on Feb. 10, 2002, and be transformed into
a park, as
planned.
But Daley said in a written statement, "No one can seriously
argue that
retaining a small, general aviation airport will help relieve the
congestion and delays that threaten the long-term economic
viability of Chicago's
major airports. We should not let Meigs Field divert us from
seeking a
regional solution to this much larger problem."
McCain said Congress may not have much more patience.
"Something has to
be done, and the people of Illinois and Chicago who are the major
users of
the airport should demand action on the part of their elected
officials and
stop acting in a parochial fashion."
The city closed Meigs on Sept. 30, 1996, to make way for a $27.2
million
park, only to reopen it later under a deal that ended months of
acrimony
between Daley and then-Gov. Jim Edgar.
Frequent flier Edgar wanted to keep it open and persuaded the
General
Assembly to authorize a state takeover in the waning hours of
Republican
control. Edgar's decision to flex seldom-shown legislative muscle
forced
a Daley retreat. Meigs was reopened until Feb. 10, 2002, when
Daley will
be free to turn it into Northerly Island Park.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON MCCAIN:
A letter to a U.S. Senator:
Please vote against two amendments Sen. John McCain regarding
Amtrak funding that he has submitted.
Amendment #3646 would delete Amtrak's $55 million from H.R. 4775,
the Supplemental Appropriations Act. Amendment #3652 would give
the Secretary of Transportation the power to determine whether
overhauls and wreck repairs
qualify as "emergencies."
Senator McCain has demonstrated a long history of being biased
against passenger rail issues. While he demands Amtrak be
self-sufficient and not rely on federal operating assistance, he
has promised that the federal government would build the city of
Chicago a third airport.
Senator, it is this kind of political maneuvering that has put
Amtrak in its precarious situation where it is nearly out of
cash. This federal government, through "user fees"
(also known as taxes) and general fund grants has lavished
billions of dollars into money-losing highway and aviation
systems, while simultaneously demanding Amtrak pay its own way.
I hope you will understand how improving transportation options
in this country will benefit our state as well.
