Source: Chicago Tribune

Date: March 9, 2005

Copyright ) 2005, Chicago Tribune

Expansion foes get deadline extension

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O'HARE AIRPORT -- Two groups opposed to new runways at O'Hare International Airport have been given a two-week extension to submit public comments on the federal government's preliminary environmental impact study of Chicago's airport expansion project, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday.

The FAA extended to April 6 the deadline to provide public comment on the project. The extension was granted at the request of the Suburban O'Hare Commission and the Alliance of Residents Concerning O'Hare.

"The FAA hasn't furnished information we requested on the contractors who conducted the environmental study," said Jack Saporito, director of the alliance, which addresses public-health concerns regarding airports. "Certainly we have a right to look at the contracts, see what people are being paid and to provide our comments."

Saporito said his request was not a delaying tactic. FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said the extension would not slow plans to issue an environmental impact statement in July or to make a final decision on O'Hare expansion by September.