Since its initiation over 50 years ago, a proposal for a third airport has remained controversial in terms of both cost, need, and calls for alternatives to accommodate increased air traffic demand.
Stanley Berge, a professor at Northwestern University, first proposed a Peotone airport site on November 13, 1968.
In 1986, state legislation created the Illinois Airport System Plan Policy Commission (IASPPC).
Senator Aldo DeAngelis of south suburban Olympia Fields advocated for the Peotone site, stating that "economic considerations would override political ones in choosing a location" for the airport.
Planning for the South Suburban Airport began in 1984 as a cooperative venture between the states of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, the city of Chicago, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has stated that the Chicago area needs a third airport to handle growing air traffic.
The state of Illinois submitted an Environmental Assessment to the FAA in March 1998 for approval of the development of an airport at a site in eastern Will County.
The FAA prepared a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for site approval and land acquisition and issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on the Tier 1 EIS in July 2002, which approved the Will County, Illinois, site as a technically and environmentally feasible location for the development of a potential future air carrier airport in the south suburban area of Chicago.
[4] In June, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood noted that there had been little call at the federal level recently for the proposed Peotone airport.
On July 1, 2014, IDOT purchased Bult Field and some surrounding land for $34 million for the new Chicago-area airport.
[6][7] The proposed third airport was included in REBUILD Illinois, the 2019 capital bill signed into law by Governor J.
The bill allocated $162 million toward road improvements that would connect Interstate 57 to the proposed airport site, an environmental review, and the completion of a master plan.
[8] In mid-2023, a state law was passed to force IDOT to review proposals to develop and maintain the airport by the end of the year.
[citation needed] The proponents of the south suburban airport and those opposing expansion of O'Hare believe a south suburban airport would alleviate the heavy and still growing air traffic, while not necessitating the expansion of the already extremely large and busy O'Hare.
These critic groups believe that expanding O'Hare or other existing airports in Rockford, IL; Milwaukee, WI; or Gary, IN are thought to be viable alternatives.
In 1970, Mayor Richard J. Daley released an ambitious plan to site an airport 8.5 miles (13.7 km) offshore east of 55th Street.
In addition to possible adverse impacts on the natural environment, there were concerns about the traffic infrastructure along the lake, the effect on the Hyde Park neighborhood along the shore, and the risk of dike failure.
[citation needed] Federal legislation sealed the passenger facility charges on August 2, 1990, in the 101st Congress's 2nd session through H.R.