I will always remember Bill Hood

 

Sadly, I just learned that a man, with whom I have held much regard, has died. 

I crossed paths with Bill Hood, sometime in the late 1980's and early 1990's. He was formerly the Director of American Airlines. As such, we were on the same side of the debate on whether or not to build a third airport, some 40 miles south of Chicago. We certainly came from different places, but our goals were the same--halting the construction of a major international airport at Peotone. Some of our reasons were very different, but some were also the same.

I didn't know him very well--hardly at all--really, but I knew he was someone I'd never forget. I admired his dedication to the cause for which I was so passionate. I recognized that he was a good and principled man who believed in doing the right thing and fighting for what he believed in.

I will never forget when he called one day to ask if I would give him a tour of the airport site. I was very excited at the chance to plead my case to someone who might actually have some say in the project. Up until that point, everyone who was anyone supported the project.

In truth I suppose I never really got over the fact that a representative of a world-renown airline could have anything in common with a housewife and young mother from the small town of Beecher, Illinois. Our initial meeting was prior to my writing for a local newspaper. Our paths crossed often at the countless meetings we attended, as I continued to write about the proposed airport until I retired and moved out of state in 2005. 

On the day we met, he picked me up at a local restaurant and we drove around the nearly 7 square miles of rich farmland nestled among the farm towns of Beecher, Peotone, Monee, and Crete. I didn't hold anything back as I told him everything I knew about the area where I lived for many years. I believed with all my heart that the airport was a foolish idea. I showed Bill an airport just didn't fit in the fertile farmland of Will County. I showed him the topography,  as we talked about the many creeks and streams. told him about where the land flooded when it rained and how quickly the water soaked into the ground afterward, something that doesn't happen with tons of concrete and asphalt. I talked about wetlands, recharging the aquifers that supplied well water to the rural areas, potential pollution, urban sprawl, as well as the working farm economy that would be completely displaced. I introduced him to the farmers I knew and other advocates of retaining some of the best agricultural land left in the Chicago area.

He didn't interrupt and I knew he completely understood.

Back in those early days, I was always impressed with some of the good people I met, especially those that understood what a folly the airport would be. 

Bill and I have remained Facebook friends through the years. We didn't interact often, but each time he commented on a post or wished me a Happy Birthday, I was reminded of how much he impressed me way back in those early days. 

I will never forget all he did to aid our cause. I wish I had known him better. I will always think fondly of him. 

I offer my deepest sympathy to his family and friends.  

Please sign this petition

Stopping this project has been a very important part of the last 25 years of my life. I urge everyone who cares about not being run over by a state government out of control to sign this petition. I'm sure the people of eastern will County will thank you! I thank you!

Free Petition by iPetitions.com

Jury still out in Illinois' Ex-Gov. Blagojevich case

Illinois Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich

Illinois Ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich looks just as dapper today as he did when this picture was taken in 2003 while he was still Illinois' governor. He made an appearance at Union Station in Joliet, IL to speak to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters.

Today, Blagojevich awaits a verdict by a jury of his peers after weeks of testimony was delivered in a federal court room in Chicago. Blagojevich stands accused of 24 charges, including racketeering for allegedly trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he won the Presidential election.

It is amazing that a man who is accused of acting in his own best interests over and above the very people he was supposed to represent, can still appear as cool as Blagojevich does during television appearances and in interviews.

At the time I took these photos, I was one of the people Blagojevich was supposed to represent, though I didn't feel very adequately represented. 

I was among a small group at Union Station that afternoon, in an effort to lobby, and I use that term very loosely, against the state's plan to build a new airport, the South Suburban Airport, near the small town of Peotone, some 40 miles south of Chicago.

C.J. Ogalla lobbies Gov. Rod Blagojevich

We did get noticed, thanks to the adorable C.J. Ogalla, shown at right, who was just 7 at the time. She wrote a letter to Blagojevich. It was heartfelt and touching as it echoed the feelings her mother has expressed for years.

C.J. lives with her family on a working farm near where they want to build the airport. Her mother Judy has been an avid fighter for a long time, vowing she and her husband will never give up their family farm for a project that isn't needed. Blagojevich continued to support the airport while in office.


Blagojevich's latest criticism stems from the fact that he brought his daughters into the courtroom. Why not, he has consistency claimed he is innocent? It is not odd that he would want his family by his side to show their support for him. Besides, it would look good to members of the jury. And looking good is what Ex-Gov. Rod is all about.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. his latest woes

Headlines are filled with allegations of ethics violations and potential wrongdoing by Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. in connection with the vacated U.S. Senate Seat formerly held by President Barack Obama. The congressional ethics probe was placed on the back burner upon request from federal prosecutors who are investigating former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

By all accounts, Jackson appears to be in some hot water. Perhaps that would explain his uncharacteristic silence of late.

Coincidentally, Jackson and Sen. Roland Burris, who was appointed to fill the vacant Senate seat from Illinois, are named two of the 15 most corrupt congressmen in Washington. Coincidentally, Illinois has just escaped from the scrutiny of a similar allegation. Another Illinois Congressman, Jerry Weller, who decided not to run for re-election in 2008 was also labeled one the most corrupt congressman.

But why should Illinois' congressional delegation be the only offices mentioned. Illinois governors are not immune to prosecution, accusation, or going to the slammer. Take Blagojevich, who was impeached as governor and now awaits a 2010 trial in federal court for allegations of wrongoing. Then there is his predecessor, George Ryan whose home address is a federal penetentiary.

Ryan follows in a long line of corrupt governors. In the last 35 years, two other Illinois governors have served time -- Otto Kerner and Dan Walker.

So, is it any wonder that Jackson has been silent of late?

A story published last December addresses this very topic. Perhaps it is time to revisit it here.

* * *

Jesse Jackson, Jr.

Is he a hero or is he scrambling to save his political life?

originally published in Dec. 2008 at http://chblog.ozarkattitude.com

Last December news reports indicated that Jesse Jackson, Jr. had long been cooperating with federal prosecutors’ investigation of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s alleged “pay-to-play” schemes.

Jackson was identified as ‘Senate Candidate 5’ soon after the criminal complaint in accordance with Blagojevich’s arrest was released last week. The complaint alleged that ‘Senate Candidate 5’ was implicated in Blagojevich’s alleged plot to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Jackson denies allegations


But Jackson has vehemently denied he was involved in trying to buy the position, despite his immodest efforts to win the appointment.

Jackson’s aides intimate that Jackson is not only innocent of trying to trade campaign cash for the senate seat, but that he has long been an informant to federal prosecutors about Blagojevich’s behavior. Jackson has claimed that Blagojevich refused to appoint Jackson’s wife Sandi as Illinois State Lottery Director because Jackson would not donate $25,000 to the governor’s campaign fund.

The reports paint Jackson as almost heroic.

Questions remain

While the facts of this situation will become clearer with time, there are things already known about the tenuous relationship between Jackson and Blagojevich. Much of it has to do with Jackson’s obsession over building an airport near Peotone. Jackson has tried to coerce Blagojevich into supporting Jackson’s plan which includes turning over state-owned land to Jackson’s self-prescribed airport authority.

Jackson, Blagojevich and the Peotone Airport


Blagojevich never gave Jackson what he wanted. The problem began days after Blagojevich was elected in 2002. That was a very active time in eastern Will County.

Blagojevich reportedly considered calling a halt to land banking near Peotone because of the state’s budget crisis. Blagojevich inherited the questionabe undertaking from his predecessor, ex-Gov. George Ryan and Ryan’s transportation Secretary Kirk Brown.

A little airport history

During Blagojevich’s first year in office, the U.S. Congress was set to approve the O’Hare Modernization Plan. Jackson was furious when language was removed from legislation that would have provided an iron-clad guarantee that if O’Hare is expanded, Peotone would also be built.

When legislation was signed with a cursory mention of Peotone, Jackson went into a tirade claiming, “If O’Hare gets expanded, there is no need for Peotone.” But that didn’t slow his efforts to push the project.

About the same time, the FAA approved a Tier 1 Draft Environmental Airport study for the Peotone project. Jackson wanted approval on a fast track. To date, no progress has been made on the project.

In 2003, Jackson was deeply involved with DuPage County officials – O’Hare expansion opponents -- who have bankrolled the effort to build a new airport at Peotone. The Suburban O’Hare Commission as they were known believed a new airport at Peotone was preferable to an expanded O’Hare. It was this organization that had bankrolled Jackson's efforts and lined up funding. (Incidentally, due to the last election cycle SOC boss Bensenville Village President John Geils was voted out of office.)

Jackson misrepresents Peotone location

Jackson has long ignored the distance between the south suburbs and the proposed airport. Peotone is listed alphabetically on Jackson’s website between Park Forest and Phoenix, which are in his district. After numerous complaints, a disclaimer identifying Peotone as located in Will County was added, though it does nothing to clarify that Peotone is located outside Jackson’s second congressional district.

Jackson also ignored the distance between the south suburbs and his pet project when he deceived his colleagues about the Peotone project’s location. In the summer of 2007 he stood on the floor of the House of Representatives claiming, “Peotone abuts Ford Heights.”

Jackson’s remarks were part of his sales pitch to get a $231,000 earmark attached to a spending bill for his airport authority.

Latest predictions on the 40-year old project fail again

At that time, Jackson predicted the airport would be built and operational by 2008 with five gates and one runway. He expected the State of Illinois to provide land it owned to his airport authority. The state owned roughly a third of what would have been needed to build an airport.

In 2005, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued a 37-page unfavorable opinion about Jackson’s airport authority.

Madigan said the state transportation department did not have the authority to convey state-owned land, for less than market value to Jackson’s airport commission.

Madigan also said the deal brokered by Jackson between his Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission (ALNAC) and airport developers to design, build, and operate the airport was not legal under Illinois law as the authority was currently structured.

She also issued the opinion that for Jackson’s authority to develop an airport, it has to be recommended by the Governor in the airport’s Master Plan.

When ex-Congressman Jerry Weller added an amendment to the defense bill stating that a Peotone airport should be controlled locally, Jackson was furious. He called the bill a “Peotone killer,” and took the opportunity to lash out at all his critics, including Blagojevich.

Jackson used the very communities he purported to help

In 2006, Jackson was furious with Blagojevich. He wanted ALNAC members, some of those poor south suburban communities that he claimed would benefit by an airport, to cough up $300,000 to mount a media blitz and to pressure Blagojevich into turning over eastern Will County land to Jackson’s airport authority.

More than $200,000 was ultimately raised by Jackson’s advocates, including $25,000 from the City of Harvey, a city whose economic woes remain at the forefront of the media. Jackson’s efforts came under fire from several who questioned the use of municipal funds for a public relations blitz. Many felt it was wrong to use tax dollars for a project touted as a no-taxpayer supported airport. Jackson’s plea for phone calls to the governors’ office resulted in only a small number of them.

When Jackson coerced local governments into donating funds to his campaign to lobby Gov. Blagojevich to turn over state-owned land to his airport authority, Paul Lohmann, the mayor of a town adjacent to the proposed airport took Jackson to task that summer. In a letter to Jackson, Lohmann asked if that money would be better spent as a donation to Robbins or Harvey, two of the poor communities in Jackson’s district.

Jackson has claimed a new airport at Peotone would be an economic benefit to Robbins, Harvey, and the poorest of the south suburban communities – Ford Heights. There has, however, been no evidence that a runway 20 miles away from those communities would have any effect on the economies of those towns.

Blagojevich remained on the fence

Blagojevich stayed clear of the battle for control of the proposed airport by ALNAC or Will County. He said they would have to work it out or risk losing the development.

Jackson ally, State Sen. James Meeks, considered running for governor in 2006. Jackson made it known that if he didn’t get what he wanted from Blagojevich, he would rally support for Meeks in the black community, even though it was unlikely Meeks would win. Jackson’s support could, however, have taken enough votes from Blagojevich to put Republican Judy Baar Topinka into the governor’s mansion.

That was the tactic Jackson used successfully in the 1998 gubernatorial election against fellow Democrat Glenn Poshard. Poshard openly opposed the Peotone airport. Jackson was livid. He used his influence in the black community to support George Ryan for governor, a feat for which he still claims credit.

Jackson and Halvorson at odds

Last summer, Jackson accused State Senate Majority Leader and Congressman-elect Debbie Halvorson of designing an airport authority bill with elements of a “pay to play” scheme hatched by Antoin “Tony” Rezko, Blagojevich’s convicted former fundraising pal. Halvorson sponsored and pushed the bill – SB2063 – through the Illinois Senate in the spring.

Jackson’s accusation took the form of a letter to the editor, first appearing in the Village of Park Forest online newsletter. It was written by Jackson aide Rick Bryant who is also ALNAC chairman. Bryant wrote that Halvorson gave into Rezko on a plan that two years earlier Jackson flatly rejected. Halvorson countered by saying she has never met with Rezko, and she has never even met him.

Bryant admitted that Rezko stood in for Blagojevich in the Jackson meeting.

Perhaps only time will tell if Jackson is a hero responsible for helping to bring a corrupt governor to justice, or if he is a political scoundrel deserving of a similar reward as other pay-to-play politicians.

Internet responsibility

I have been doing a little on-line writing lately, which requires learning about new things and researching issues of which I have very little or no knowledge. I love learning new things. I treat learning as almost a hobby. But it is vital to be able to trust what I know.

I am troubled by some things I have discovered.

The Internet often mirrors real life -- the good and the bad. My personal and professional experiences over the last 25 years have shown me that if a lie is told often enough, it is often taken as fact. That has certainly been a hallmark in the State of Illinois' quest to build the Peotone Airport, my personal poster child for things amiss.

The internet was begun by a bunch of geeks and scholars. Today, all people have embraced it.

There is an influx of on-line writing, citizen journalism, blogging, new website, and a general on-line presence. On-line writing sites encourage everybody to try their hand at writing. They advertise that you can earn money by writing what you know. That is great!

But in doing so, individuals get caught up in a competition with other writers to write more, and even earn more. The result is often more quantity than quality. Those stories written by wannabe journalists are placed on the internet for the world to see, for young students to use as research projects, or for other writers.

Some writers simply regurgitate Wikipedia articles, put their name to it and go on to the next project. They give little thought to the reality that wikipedia is a work in progress. Often times, wiki writers get their information the same way, from something that has been posted to the internet. They think it is fact, but it may not be.

New articles may not be 100% accuracy. Then along come an eager new writer anxious to score another article. They are more intent on satisfying their google page rank and parroting incorrect information than doing more digging to verify what they are writing. And like the old game of telephone, on and on it goes until nothing can be trusted for accuracy. I don't want to see that happen.

I love the Internet. It has been one of my favorite developments in the 20th century. It offers scads of information to teach new things, or in my case, replenish some of what I've forgotten. It offers new opportunities, potential for earnings, introduced new careers, and countless other things. I would hate to see it become tainted by too much bad information.

So, in the same context as real life, we must take responsibility for everything we write. If internet users are going to act like journalists, we must behave like journalists - dig, dig, dig for the truth.

The same goes true for users of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others. Know that what you write, could last forever. Make sure it is what you really want to say. Use good common sense, do your research, be responsible, and think before you write. If that is done by all users of the internet, this medium will continue to be the wonder that it is.

Happy 21st Birthday RURAL

Twenty-one years ago, my life took a little jog in the road. I haven't been the same since. My daughter Jenny was only 8; my son Chris was 7. I'm a grandmother now. I have found peace in retirement, in the State of Arkansas where my husband John and I moved almost five years ago. But as much as my life has changed, the steadfast resolve that grew out of that day remains unyielding.

Aug. 2, 1988 was the day RURAL (Residents United to Retain Agricultural Land) was born. That was the official day, yet the real change had taken place weeks earlier -- in the spring -- when John and I attended our first airport meeting. John was so angry he rarely attended another one. I on the other hand can't count the number of meetings I have attended over the years. John's anger turned into pure hatred. Mine started that way too but was tempered, unbeknownst to me at the time, by a strong desire to mother a movement.

John was incensed when state consultants Marjorie and Suhail alChalabi, who are still with the project, painting a rosy picture of a successful airport with thousands of jobs and thousands of passengers eager to shun Chicago airports just to fly out of Peotone. Suhail argued that planes would not make noise in the future. He said there would be "noisless jets." That was the first time I ever laid eyes on Aldo DeAngelis, the late state senator, the beloved Italian who charmed everyone around him, as long as you agreed with him. I didn't.

There were 13 of us at that first meeting, who were all appalled at what we had heard. We stood in the parking lot at the Beecher Community Hall where we held our own little 'after the meeting' meeting. I later learned these were necessary to de-program us after such a meeting where there was always a purposeful assault to our intelligence. I suggested we pass our phone numbers around. Brenda Thunhurst whipped out a tablet and pen where we all signed names and numbers. She typed it up at work and sent it to all of us. I wonder where that piece of paper is now? I had all that information on another computer -- one that is no longer compatible with today's systems. If only technology hadn't moved so quickly, I could just search my computer for it. Hah, if transportation technology had advanced at a similar rate we'd be taking bullet trains. Or if Illinois politics would have matured past its historical pay to play mentality, eastern Will County would be a very different place today.

RURAL guiding principles, formed during those early days of the opposition to build a new airpor never wavered. Still in tact, they were transferred to STAND (Shut This Airport Nightmare Down). The overlying fact is that if something already exists -- airports in Gary on the east, Milwaukee on the north, Rockford on the west, and Kankakee on the south -- why build a new one? If a farm economy is working and contributing to the region, why destroy it for an airport that could turn out like the state's white elephant Mid-America at Mascoutah? To be fair, we didn't know about Mid-America then. But once we learned about it, what a great poster child it turned out to be for what not to do.

The Peotone airport project has seen countless promoters over the years, all state-sponsored, paid by tax dollars, who have come and gone. They have taken as much from the taxpayers as they could get before they moved on, probably for more steady work or bigger paychecks. They have never looked back at the chaos they helped create or the people, property, community, and more that they have destroyed.

Even the project has changed. It has changed boundaries, size and focus. The state is searching for a winnable solution and so far, has not found one. I doubt it ever will. I have said for 21 years that an airport will not be built. I'd like to stand by that statement. But I can't. I have learned that all things are possible when the equation includes greed, power, corruption, dishonesty, and lack of responsibility, integrity, and morality. There is money and power to be amassed, so they continue.

Not only was RURAL life-changing in itself, but it also sparked my career. On Sept. 2, 1988, after never writing any more than letters to the editor, I achieved my first byline on a story published in Kankakee's Daily Journal. I was a correspondent until 1997 when I went to work full time there. That was when I convinced George Ochsenfeld to take over RURAL. I entrusted him with something I considered very special, but I had been a volunteer long enough. My kids were getting older. Money was an issue, so I voluntarily gave up RURAL to work as a journalist. My association with the Journal continued for two years. In '99 I went to work for Russell Publications, the weekly paper that covers several towns. Because of Russell's stance against the airport, I was more able to write about what I knew about the project without having to kowtow to the multitude of official press releases that touted unsubstantiated claims about the project. I continued to report the facts.

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was walk that fine line. But to the best of my ability I never compromised my integrity as a journalist based on my personal feelings. I did however; inject facts I knew into stories. Over time, reporters went to other papers or other jobs and the real meat of the airport story became lost in all those press releases with a few quotes thrown in from our side. The knowledge of past events that shaped today's happenings had all been lost. At that point, I became an advocacy journalist, reporting from a historical perspective.

Laid off now, I continue to write on-line and in this and other blogs. I still consult with George and STAND. And I have a lot of time for reflection. Perhaps one day I will announce a new book in this very blog.

Pat Quinn, just like all the rest

Illinois Governor proves to be no different than predecessors

With the signing of the State of Illinois' $31 billion "Illinois Jobs Now" bill Wednesday, Gov. Pat Quinn just rewound the clock on a project for which time should have long ago run out. The bill steers another $110.5 million toward the third airport project.

Billed as a jobs creator, that money will go toward buying the remainder of the land the state has been unable to obtain from folks who have vowed to fight to keep their land, homes, and farms -- unwilling sellers. How does that create jobs?

The only possible explanation for throwing good money after bad for a forty-year old project void of forward progress, is that Quinn is continuing similar practices of his predecessors -- jobs for favorite supporters: lawyers who will try to push eminent domain on innocent families; consultants who will to try to hide the project's lack of need; public relations specialists who will explore every angle in an effort to paint a rosy picture of the project; and of course investors who also contribute to public officials' campaigns for promise of a piece of the action when an airport is built, if it ever is. Perhaps some of those professionals are part of the 10.3 percent of Illinois' unemployed.

Many believed Pat Quinn would be different than his predecessors -- one who is serving time in a federal penetentiary and another who awaits his day in court. It looks like nothing has changed except the names.

Top 10 - Peotone Airport obsession isn't so bad

For more than 20 years, I have been obsessed with the State of Illinois' proposal to build a new airport far south of the City of Chicago near a cute little farm town called Peotone. I've been writing about it so long that even I find it amazing that this wasn't the topic of my first post in this blog. I'm sure others are shocked as well. But overall, I think my obsession with the Peotone project has been a good thing. With deference to David Letterman, I have devised a top 10 list of why my Peotone Airport obsession isn't so bad.

10 There is always a subject to talk/write about
9 Whenever I see a chalkboard, there is always something to draw (no airport symbols)
8 I've made plenty of friends, not to mention enemies
7 I've learned a lot along the way: political cynicism; judging character; and recognizing lies
6 No airport symbols makes me happy
5 There is always something to look for in a google search
4 It is nice to be an expert about something
3 I have earned new titles; some might consider it name-calling
2 Thinking about the airport keeps my blood pressure up - I know I'm alive
1 I've learned the real meaning of manure - airport 'studies'