The Peotone saga becomes a bit stranger with proponents seeking private financing for the airport.
So no airlines are going to buy in? Yeah. Sure.
Peotone may not be a bad third or fourth airport site. First, Gary should be examined for what extra capacity it can handle and then Peotone will probably be necessary to relieve growing traffic at O’Hare and Midway, both of which will be full not long after the O’Hare expansion. The fifth part of the plan should be exploiting Rockford for freight flights.
The sixth part of the solution is a downstate airport between the five main towns in Central Illinois. Currently, all five operate their own airports. And for small personal aircraft that works. But each city (except Decatur) have a growing desire for easy air travel. A centralized airport would provide significantly more options for the consumers in the area and bring down the high costs associated with only small commuter flights. The problem is that the Congressman from each city don’t want such a plan because civic leaders view even a small airport as a point of pride.
Seventh, is high speed rail to reduce the number of short flights. George Will has written a fair amount on that. But part of the initial deal includes Missouri and Missouri isn’t going to pay.