For example by using Chicago's famous "el" system a quick trip using the Blue subway line at the O'Hare Airport terminal transfering at the Illinois Thompson building in the "Loop" walking up to the L platform and taking the Orange line your only 20 minutes away zipping past all sorts of traffic delays and in Midways terminal building. Unfortunately at this time the Orange line shuts down at 12am and reopens at 5am.

To support its expansion surrounding businesses participate in a TIF (tax incremental financing district). Most of the benficiaries lie along Cicero Avenue with a very much smaller benefit to the east or west of that artery.

It is that forgotten area within Midway's "propwash" we wish to serve. Promoting Midways use providing transit and other where to go where to get it information to the traveler who wish to use Midway as well as essential information to those who live in that area.

If one wonders why the Chicago mayor announced his consideration of "privatizing" Midway Airport we submit cost of expansion and improvement is the result of the following episode the reason..
ACCORDING TO A BILL INTRODUCED by Sen Frank J Lautenberg D NJ SIGNED DEC 05 -280 AIRPORTS INCLUDING MIDWAY MUST COMPLY WITH FAA REQUIREMNTS 1000' SAFETY EXTENSION BY 2015

On December 8th 2005 a Southwest 737 airliner unable to reverse its thrusters and stop while landing, overshot the end of snow covered runway 31 at Chicago's Midway Airport. It crashed through a sonic (designed to muffle jet engine noise ) fence then onto the adjacent street (55th- Garfield) carreening into street traffic where wide eyed terrified motorists watched helplessly as the huge craft slid slowly sideways towards them. 11 were injured and one of the vehicles carrying a 9 year old boy was crushed by the crafts under carriage and later died

For the 2nd time that location, 55th & Central has had an incomming aircraft accident with loss of life. 40 or so years ago an incomming prop driven United aircraft clipped a gas station sign and crashed in airport confines with a large loss of life.

In the Southwest 737 airliners case the plane was comming in from the opposite direction and according to early testimony the pilot had difficulty engaging its reverse thrusters in time to stop on the snow covered runway.

Later reports indicated possible pilot error with the plane touching down beyond the prescribed runway touchdown point where brakes are applied and its reverse thrusters deployed. FAA officals said that the investigation of the accidents cause will take about a year.

Users of that airline should bear in mind the plane landed safely no passengers injured. Despite not meeting the 1000 foot FAA buffer (runway extension) requirements Midway has had a remarkable safety record. That 1000 foot required buffer according to NBC consultant *Jim Tillman former Chicago Ch 5 weatherman and airline pilot is composed of crushed concrete and not a paved surface To install it would require not only demolition of recently built homes but rerouting of railroad tracks and two or more major arterial streets.

Bounded by Cicero Avenue on the east, Central Avenue on the west, 63rd street on the south, and 55th street on the north. Midway Airport was once upon a time a golf course.

The square mile Chicago Municipal Airport was built in the 1920's,and the adjacent finger of land approximently 4 miles by 3 miles area bounded by Harlem Avenue on the west, Cicero avenue on the east, 51st street on the north, and 65th street on the south, was incorporated into the city.

That included the communities of Clearing and Garfield Ridge. Garfield Ridge begins at 51st st and divides at 59th street by railroad tracks from the village of Clearing, which ends at 65th st .

Clearing was established as a Village and named after a proposed stockyards which never happend. Garfield Ridge was called that because it lay on a ridge where 55th street (Garfield Boulevard) began wending its way east to Chicago and Lake Michigan. Both were areas of small tracts actually truck farms where produce from its fertile soil was sold to local stores and settled mainly by Dutch immigrants. Prior to and during WWII those small tracts played an important role in supplying the city with fresh produce.

After WWII Ridge and adjacent Clearing began to develop with by todays standards modest 5 and 6 room expandable bungalows set mostly on 30 X 150 foot lots.

For a time after the name change to Midway Airport (so named after a decisive WWII Pacific Ocean sea -air battle) Midway Airport was called "the worlds businest airport and it was with planes taking off and landing every three minutes.

By the 70's however with the advent of jet travel the airport fell into rapid decline almost misuse and was begining to look "seedy" .

It was then neighborhood groups got together and began to question authorities what would be done and the impact any proposed development would have on the homeowner. Those proposals ran from using the area for an educational facility (it was then owned by the Chicago Board of Education) to a large housing development, etc etc etc.

What residents of that 4 X 3 mile southwest finger of Chicago don't know is that there has always been plans to extend that airport to Mason Ave four blocks futhur west of its present location, Central Avenue. As editor of one of the publications in that area, Village View, this writer reported on much of the work fighting its expansion .

This fight was carried by two neighborhood (Clearing and Garfield Ridge) civic leagues led chiefly by Marius (Scotty) Gallagher president of the Garfield Ridge Civic League.

Gallagher a retired electrician from the Chicago Park district began to research the problems associated with the requirement of jet planes and as president of the Garfield Ridge civic league early on warned based on the type of aircraft offered to commercial carriers the airport was unsafe for the jets used at the time.

What changed was the type of aircraft now being used and techniques in driving them. Until now most of the discussion between authorities and the civic groups was about sound proofing with the larger O'Hare (Orchard Field) getting preferential treatment.

Now that an accident has happened it is inevitable something will be done if nothing else simply to protect the heavy investment, hundreds of millions, the city has made into its operation.

The question is what and how much of these neighborhoods will be destroyed.

When that happens much of what the residents knew as "Old Clearing" will be gone as well as sizable chunks of Garfield Ridge (more to follow).
*Oops: An earlier US MAT report had Tillman's first name as Rodger not Jim.

CENTRAL STICKNEY BARS AWAIT ARRESTS FROM COUNTY BOARD RULING TOTAL SMOKING BAN