Voters may be key to airport unity

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:48AM

The issue of who controls the South Suburban Airport near Peotone is back in the news, fueled by tough talk from Will County Board Chairman James Moustis that county officials are done playing nice.

It appears that the political unity necessary for this 20-year-old idea to become reality is as elusive as ever — though that could change if U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is re-elected.

Moustis (R-Frankfort Square) recently reiterated to Gov. Pat Quinn and Jackson (D-2nd) that Will County remains staunchly opposed to Jackson’s plan to build the airport and will never cede control to an airport commission Jackson formed.

The nine-member Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission is a strange bird. It has five seats for Will County towns, but other than University Park, none has joined. One member is Elk Grove Village, which covered ALNAC’s start-up costs when trying to stop O’Hare International Airport expansion. Once the airport is built, Elk Grove Village would leave and its seat would go to a town in Kankakee County.

But Elk Grove Village, University Park and Park Forest have “superpower” on ALNAC, allowing them to overrule other members if need be. Why? Jackson doesn’t trust a Will County majority on the commission.

And that’s the gist of this soap opera — no trust between the two sides. We understand why Will County has doubts about ALNAC, but at least it exists to oversee the private developers that Jackson has arranged to build and operate the airport. That’s more than Will County has done, which amounts to nothing. Its officials initially opposed the airport, and we’re still not sure Will County wants it.

Quinn could step in and settle the control issue. He may be waiting to see if Jackson is re-elected in his realigned district that now includes the airport site.

If Jackson is, he would have the upper hand — able to use his office’s authority and control of federal funds within his district to persuade local officials to embrace ALNAC. In backing up his strong words, Moustis may be at the mercy of the voters.