DuPage Policy Journal: Reps. Quigley, Duckworth and Schakowsky release statement on O'Hare noise problem

The following article was published on August 4, 2015. A link to the article can be found here.

By Mark Reccek

U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) on July 31 released a statement regarding the steps the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) will be taking to address issues relating to noise at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

"Today's announcement by the CDA has been a long time coming, as our constituents around O'Hare Airport have been dealing with increased noise issues since the east-west flow was implemented nearly two years ago," the House members said. "We have been calling for many of the noise mitigation techniques that CDA announced today including implementing a new fly quiet plan for more even distribution of flight paths, changes to the 311 complaint system and a plan for increased community engagement by CDA."

The House members said they were not entirely convinced that building new runways will aid in reducing noise in the surrounding communities.

"We believe the diagonal runways remain necessary for efficiency, safety and noise abatement," they said. "Leaving the diagonal runways open would allow us to maintain the most potential options to configure the airport and help distribute the noise burden."