Jim Tobin, A Friend Of Liberty (1945-2021)
May 2nd, 2022
By: Christina Tobin
Sometimes a single man or woman has to stand up for principle, just so t[...]
Taxpayers: Block Destructive and Unwanted Peotone Airport Boondoggle
CHICAGO–The President of Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today urged Ill. House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) and Ill. Senate President John Cullerton (D) to do whatever is necessary to block the $110 million item that Gov. Patrick Quinn (D) slipped into the state budget for acquiring land for a proposed airport in Peotone.
“The state is spending recklessly and should not be borrowing money for projects that taxpayers don’t want, that the state can’t afford, and which are destructive in nature,” said Jim Tobin, TUA President. “This is a boondoggle designed to benefit only politically connected contractors, bond brokers and attorneys associated with the project.”
“People in the Peotone area have been terrorized for 20 years by the threat of losing their land, homes and farms through Eminent Domain,” said Tobin. “The state plans to take land from unwilling sellers by force using Eminent Domain, even though the FAA is two or three years away from approving or disapproving the project. Peotone Airport would be a white elephant, like MidAmerica airport near St. Louis. It would waste 32 square miles of excellent farm land, encourage suburban sprawl, and would be bad for the environment.”
“This is an abuse of governmental power. Just the surrounding infrastructure would cost taxpayers a fortune. The O’Hare Airport expansion will handle air traffic for decades to come. The airlines themselves are opposed to the Peotone Airport.”
“This project has always been politically-driven. If it were market-driven, it would have been built years ago. I urge Speaker Madigan and Sen. President John Cullerton to use whatever parliamentary maneuvers they have at their disposal to block funding for this totally useless, wasteful and destructive Peotone Airport project.”
