Published On: March 11th, 2023Categories: Illinois News

A long-discussed proposal for a new Chicago-area airport in the south suburbs is again gaining traction, now with a focus on air cargo as e-commerce warehouses and logistics facilities have flourished in the area.

Proponents envision an airport that could take advantage of demand for quick delivery and the proliferation of Amazon warehouses, train facilities and highways in Will County. At least one developer is already interested in building out the airport and nearby warehouses, a project that would mark the culmination of the decadeslong effort to get an airport built near Peotone.

But the plan has for years faced objections. Opponents, including environmentalists and Will County farmers, say the airport would be a waste of rich agricultural land and public money, cause environmental problems and encourage urban sprawl. Nearby airports already have cargo facilities. And, after decades of talk, some are skeptical the airport will move forward at all.

“The Peotone airport has always been a solution in search of a problem,” said Kevin Brubaker, deputy director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center.

A bill pending in the Illinois legislature intends to get the ball rolling on the project by directing the state to start the process of soliciting proposals from developers. The goal is to determine the viability to build the airport, state Rep. Will Davis, a Democrat from Homewood who sponsored the bill, said during a hearing on the concept Wednesday.

“We see it as economic development for our region,” he said. “Not only our region but also the entire state of Illinois. And right now we’re losing out to a couple of our neighboring states.”

The concept has also garnered support from both Chicago mayoral candidates. Brandon Johnson said during a candidate forum Thursday that transportation could serve as an anchor for an economic hub for the South Side of the city and the south suburbs, and Paul Vallas said it should be paired with expanded transit and connected to the central business district.

Asked at a recent unrelated news conference about his support for a third Chicago-area airport, this one focused on cargo, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said ensuring there is interest from cargo carriers would be key to the project.

“What you don’t want is, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ right?” he said. “Just building the thing and hoping that people will show up to essentially pay for the airport having been built. You need to make sure that you’re building it because you have interest from cargo carriers who are committing to make that a cargo airport.”

The airport has been discussed for decades, and was first proposed as a third passenger airport for the Chicago area. It has progressed in starts and stops over the years as plans changed.

The concept calls for expanding a small general aviation airport known as Bult Field. The Illinois Department of Transportation owns the site and has purchased most, though not all, of the rest of the land needed to expand. The state also allocated money to build a new interchange on I-57 that would connect the expressway to the airport, but IDOT is still in the early stages of the road project and does not have a timetable to start construction, spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said.

Farm buildings and homes near the runway at Bult Field in Monee, a possible site for the South Suburban Airport.

Still, industrial developer Paul Ahern, owner of Tandem Development Group, sees potential for the site. He wants to build warehouses to complement the airport, and said he’s part of a team that plans to bid on developing the airport itself if the opportunity arises.

Will County’s rail lines, intermodal facilities and highways make it a logical choice for a cargo airport, he said. Major retailers such as Amazon have warehouses nearby. And Illinois’ central location in the United States makes it a draw for overseas companies that want products made in America or need to ship expensive items such as pharmaceuticals, electronics or machinery parts.

Ahern pointed to the growth of Chicago Rockford International Airport, where he helped develop a cargo center. Opened during the Great Recession, the building sat vacant for several years as he struggled to recruit air cargo tenants, and ultimately the airport purchased the property. But as the logistics in the area matured and the recession receded, the airport boomed, he said.

“(Rockford is) an international success, is the best way to put it,” Ahern said. “So I decided, knowing the growth of the industrial sector down in Will County, ‘You know, a third airport as a cargo airport makes a lot of sense.’”

Opponents point to the prevalence of other cargo airports nearby. But Ahern said he sees enough demand to go around.

Gary Chicago International Airport in Indiana is looking to expand air cargo service by increasing its staging area so it can accommodate more large aircraft, though there are no plans to add another runway, an airport spokesman said.

To the north, at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, a new, 288,000-square-foot air cargo facility is in the works, and could be finished in late 2024 if given final approval. CBRE, the firm handling leasing for the project, is marketing the facility as “a legitimate option for cargo tenants looking to avoid the much higher congestion and costs associated with centering operations out of O’Hare (International Airport).”

And in Rockford, the airport is undergoing an expansion that moved forward after an attempt was denied Wednesday to pause construction through an ancient prairie and habitat for the endangered rusty patched bumblebee.

The Rockford airport has been successful and growing for decades, said state Sen. Steve Stadelman, a Democrat from Rockford. The airport’s location close to Chicago but outside the major areas of congestion has been a draw, he said.

“It seems to be a huge growth area as e-commerce expands,” he said.

Rick Bryant, an adviser to U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, a supporter of the Peotone airport, said another airport in the south suburbs could be viable even with the other nearby expansions. Air cargo carriers can operate out of two hubs in a major metro area, located at opposite ends of the area and bypassing the congestion of the urban center.

Dozens of air carriers already operate out of northern Illinois airports, including some out of both O’Hare and Rockford. O’Hare has more than two dozen air cargo carriers, including FedEx, Air China Cargo and DHL. Carriers out of Rockford include Atlas Air, Nippon Cargo and Cargolux.

The south suburban airport could also eventually draw shippers such as Amazon and UPS. Amazon has opened 20 fulfillment and sorting centers in the state, 20 delivery stations and other fulfillment centers for Prime Now and Amazon Fresh, according to the company.

UPS operates out of nearby airports, running about 40 arrivals and 40 departures each weekday. Most of those — about 32 — are from Rockford, about six are out of O’Hare and two from Gary.

Both companies declined to comment on the proposed new airport.

At the legislative hearing Wednesday, Reggie Greenwood, executive director of the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corp., said demand for a new cargo airport is driven by the explosion in e-commerce and manufacturing brought back to the U.S. from overseas.

Since 2018, e-commerce has made up an increasing share of retail sales, rising from 10.7% of sales in January 2018 to 16.6% in December 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data provided by the National Retail Federation.

Recently, e-commerce giant Amazon was among the tech companies that implemented massive layoffs. The decision was part of a broad cost-cutting move to trim its growing workforce as sales dip from pandemic spikes and fears linger of a potential recession.

But Greenwood said the area has experienced an “industrial boom” in recent years. He also pointed to potential benefits of the airport, saying it would create jobs in an area with a large population of people of color and keep investment in the state.

“The economic impact of such a development would be immense,” he said.

Estimates from aviation consultant R.A. Wiedemann and Associates, commissioned by the Southland economic development corporation and based on analysis of other cargo airports, say the airport could generate between 900 and 2,500 on-site jobs.

But to attract cargo carriers and logistics companies, the airport will need road access and warehouse space, according to the study.

Chris Kessler, director of policy at the environmental nonprofit Openlands, told lawmakers the airport would be “an environmental disaster.” The project would involve paving over wetlands, degrading miles of streams and destroying flood plains, he said.

It would also likely destroy family farms, and bring industry into an area that doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle it, he said.

“The low-flying planes and pollution and strain on our natural resources that would follow will have a devastating effect on the region, especially the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie,” Kessler said, reading a letter from the organization’s president.

Brubaker, from the ELPC, said the airport would induce sprawl. He, too, said it would bring industrial growth into the region, spurring the destruction of flood plains and wetlands.

“Why build all of that to create something we don’t need?” he said.

The president of the nearby village of Crete, Michael Einhorn, said he’d been hearing about the proposed airport for nearly all of the more than three decades he’d been in office. He said he would hold off on making a decision about the airport until he saw a concrete plan.

“This has just been going on for so long, it’s really hard to get charged up about,” he said.

Chicago Tribune reporter Alice Yin and The Associated Press contributed.

sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com

jgorner@chicagotribune.com

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