Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Leads Jobs Summit on Economic Benefits of Completing Western Access to O’Hare

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi yesterday sent a letter co-signed by
twenty-one community leaders urging the US Surface Transportation Board
to approve the Tollways’ petition to allow continued construction of the
Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project.

Rep. Krishnamoorthi began circulating the letter after his jobs
summit on Tuesday which focused on the project’s huge economic benefits.
The Illinois Governor’s Advisory Council estimates that approximately
65,000 permanent jobs will be created through completion of the
project by 2040, in addition to other benefits such as reduced traffic
congestion in communities surrounding the airport.

April 11, 2017

Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s letter follows:

The Honorable Ann D. Begeman

Acting Chairman

The Honorable Daniel R. Elliott III

Vice Chairman

The Honorable Deb Miller

United States Surface Transportation Board

395 E Street, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20423-0001

Re: Docket No. FD 36075

Dear Chairman Begeman and Surface Transportation Board members:

We write to express our serious concern regarding the matter referred
to above, currently before the Surface Transportation Board and brought
by the Illinois Toll Highway Authority (“Tollway”). In its petition,
the Tollway seeks declaratory judgment that exercise of state law
eminent domain authority to acquire permanent and temporary easements
for the construction of five bridges over railroad tracks in the
vicinity of O’Hare International Airport (“O’Hare”) is not preempted by
the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, 49 U.S.C. ss 10101
et seq.

The specific subject of the Tollway’s petition, the Western Access
Interchange, is an integral component of the broader Elgin O’Hare
Western Access Project (“EOWA”), and is part of the O’Hare Modernization
Plan (“OMP”). The EOWA and OMP (which includes construction of a new
terminal requiring a western entry point into O’Hare) are projected to
greatly improve freight and passenger access to the airport by providing
western access to O’Hare, and provide other transportation benefits for
passenger and freight transportation in and around the Chicago area.
Additionally, the Illinois Governor’s Advisory Council estimates that
approximately 65,000 permanent jobs will be created by completion
of EOWA by 2040, nearly seventy percent of which would locate in the
communities west of O’Hare.[1] The United States Department of
Transportation recently designated EOWA as a Project of National and
Regional Significance due to its impact on the regional economy and the
execution of other national priorities.

Mindful of the significant economic benefits this project will bring
to our communities, businesses and the region at large (and nationally,
insofar as it is a continuation of improvements to an airport of
critical importance to our national air transportation system), we wish
to express our full support for EOWA and the Tollway’s efforts in seeing
this multi-year project completed as soon as resolution of this issue,
and construction of the roadway, permits.

Best regards,

Raja Krishnamoorthi

Member of Congress

I, the undersigned, concur with the concerns state in Congressman
Krishnamoorthi’s letter of April 11, 2017 to the Surface Transportation
Board, and support the Illinois Toll Highway Authority’s efforts to
obtain the easements necessary to complete the Elgin O’Hare Western
Access Project.

Dan Cronin

DuPage County Board Chairman

Timothy O. Schneider

Cook County Commissioner

Richard Veenstra

Addison Mayor

Evan K. Summers

Village Manager -Bensenville

Craig B. Johnson

Mayor of Elk Grove Village

Rodney S. Craig

Mayor, Village of Hanover Park

Al Larson

Village President, Schaumburg

Annunziato Pulice

Mayor of the City of Wood Dale

Anna Moeller

State Representative for the 43rd District

Michelle Mussman

State Representative for the 56th District

Laura M. Murphy

State Senator for the 28th District

Paul Fichtner

Chairman, O’Hare Noise Committee

Member, DuPage County Board

Sam Tornatore

County Board, DuPage County District 1

James P. Connolly

Chicago Laborers’ District Council Business Manager

Alejandro Perez

BA Carpenters Union 181

Joseph Pastorino

Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters

Ralph Affrunti

President, Chicago and Cook County Building Trades

Frank Furco

Business Manager, IBEW Local 701

Michael Sturino

President, Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association

John A. Carpenter

President & CEO, Choose DuPage

Dave Parulo

President, Meet Chicago Northwest