RAHM STRIKES DEAL WITH AMERICAN ON O’HARE GATES
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and American Airlines cut a deal late Wednesday to resolve the gate dispute that threatened to hold up an $ 8.5 billion expansion at O’Hare Airport.
On the eve of a pivotal Aviation Committee vote on new airline use agreements needed to bankroll the massive project, Emanuel agreed to speed construction of three common- use gates that can be used by any airline, including American.
American had threatened to file a lawsuit, reduce its dual- hub operation at O’Hare — or both — to protest Emanuel’s decision to award five additional gates to hometown United Airlines. American had called that a “secret, eleventh- hour deal” that tilted the playing field in favor of United and stifled American’s future growth at O’Hare.
The deal came together hours after former U. S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urged Chicago aldermen to forge ahead with the expansion.
“This project could end up being the No. 1 project in the country — in terms of size, in terms of employing people and in terms of modernizing an airport,” LaHood said between meetings with aldermen.
“Nothing else is going on in the country right now. This is a great project and a real capstone to the runway extension,” added LaHood, who besides serving in President Barack Obama’s cabinet was a Republican congresssman from the Peoria area for 14 years.
LaHood was delivering an assist to Emanuel, one of his closest friends in politics.
“I’m not lobbying for anybody. I’m here because this is a very important project for Chicago, for Illinois, for the Midwest and for aviation. I’m not being paid by anybody. I’m doing it because this is a visionary project that will put a lot of people to work and also make O’Hare the No. 1 airport in the country.”
Until the last- minute deal, American had been expected to come out with guns blazing at Thursday’s Aviation Committee hearing.
Mike Minerva, American’s vicepresident of government and airport affairs, had been expected to reiterate his argument that the “coordinated resistance by the city and United to our request for three gates — to build gates already approved as part of the plan, but build them sooner — feeds our concern that there’s an agreement not to allow us to grow.”