FAA Confirms Third Airport is Viable

South Suburban Airport Necessary Even With O'Hare Modernization

Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr. today said that the Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed what he has been saying for years: Chicago needs a Third Airport.

"The FAA today confirmed that there is enough demand in the Chicago market to justify the building of a South Suburban Airport even as O'Hare modernizes," Jackson said.

"More importantly, this report confirms that the Third Airport is necessary and viable if Chicago is to keep pace with growing aviation demand and maintain its role as the nation's pre-eminent air travel hub," he said.

The FAA released its forecasts for market demands at the proposed airport on Monday and directed the Illinois Department of Transportation to proceed with master planning for the facility.

Jackson has proposed building the Third Airport, which he wants to call Abraham Lincoln National Airport, through an innovative public-private partnership. Under the plan, the airport would be developed and financed by private developers and governed by a local authority comprised of mayors from South Cook, Will and Kankakee county communities.