AUGUST 2015
FROM WHERE WE’VE BEEN TO WHERE WE’RE GOING
O’Hare CALL TO ACTION! NEW SOUTHERN RUNWAY OPENING On October 15, 2015 the new southern Runway 10 Right / 28 Left will be opened by the FAA and City of Chicago. This will be the southernmost runway at O’Hare and will roughly align with Main Street in Downtown Bensenville. We are very concerned to discover that the runway will be used for landings and takeoffs over Bensenville while no operations over Chicago are contemplated. Thankfully this runway will be closed at night from 10PM to 6AM. Your comments and concerns about the operations of new Runway 10 Right / 28 Left can be made directly to the FAA at a series of upcoming public meetings. Please let your voice be heard. For detailed operational information from the FAA visit our online CALL TO ACTION at www.bensenville.il.us.
FAA PUBLIC MEETINGS The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released their Draft Re-Evaluation study of the current runway configuration and new runway opening at O’Hare. The FAA recently announced that four public meetings will be held in August providing residents an opportunity to speak out about the impacts of the current runway conditions. We are pleased that one of the four meetings will be held in Bensenville on Wednesday, August 12 from 1-9 pm at Monty’s Elegant Banquets, 703 South York Road. We encourage all members of the public to attend and make a statement on the record on the impact that current airport operations have on you and your family. Residents may also email their concerns to oharenoise@bensenville.il.us. If you need help with transportation to Monty’s, please call our Action Line at 630 594 1515.
O’HARE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
VILLAGE PRESIDENT Frank Soto BOARD OF TRUSTEES Rosa Carmona Frank DeSimone Susan Janowiak Agnieszka “Annie” Jaworska Martin O’Connell Henry Wesseler CLERK Ilsa Rivera-Trujillo VILLAGE MANAGER Michael Cassady
Village President Frank Soto was invited by the City of Chicago to participate in three Community Conversations with new Commissioner of Aviation Ginger Evans, members of the Fair Allocation in Runways resident group (FAiR), the FAA, and state and federal lawmakers. These landmark meetings have given Bensenville an unprecedented seat at the table in addressing noise and environmental issues with O’Hare. After President Soto’s plea for immediate relief in Bensenville, Commissioner Evans actually toured Bensenville to experience the noise for herself. After the visit, we were encouraged to hear Commissioner Evans state that she is working on flight patterns to redirect nighttime flights away from residential areas to industrial areas around the airport. We will keep you updated as we anxiously await to see the City’s recommendations.
SENATE BILL 636 | A BENSENVILLE VICTORY! President Soto crafted what ultimately became Senate Bill 636, to adopt an alternative noise metric that placed greater penalty on flights between the hours of 7:00 and 10:00pm. We are happy to report that the legislation that we co-wrote passed through the General Assembly and has been signed by Governor Rauner! Senate Bill 636 will expand the number of runways allowed at O’Hare from 8 to 10 allowing the diagonal runways that are planned for closure to stay open to help spread flights more equitably around the airport. The bill will also establish the CNEL as the new Illinois airplane noise metric, which will hopefully result in expanded sound insulation in homes.