Quigley addresses jet noise

by BRIAN NADIG

U.S. Congressman Mike Quigley (D-5) addressed concerns about jet noise and other issues at the Oct. 18 meeting of Jefferson Park Forward.

Some residents at the meeting raised concerns about the difficulty that they have sleeping at night due to jet noise, with some adding that they are forced to use noise cancellation devices.

"I don’t think you will ever get an airport the size of O’Hare not to fly during (overnight) hours," Quigley said. "You’ll never get away from some cargo (flights)."

Quigley said that overnight flights should fly routes that take them over expressways and forest preserves.

In 1997, a voluntary "Fly Quiet" agreement took effect in which efforts are made to use runways and air traffic patterns at night that would limit the noise impact over residential area. More recently, the runway use at O’Hare has been rotated from 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on a trial basis so that communities are more evenly impacted.

Quigley said that he would like the House Appropriations Committee, which votes on federal funding allocations, to use more of its influence to bring about policy changes from the Federal Aviation
Administration.

The Fair Allocation In Runways Coalition has criticized Quigley for not doing more to limit the impact of the O’Hare Modernization Project. The project has led to more east-west runaways and the elimination of diagonal runways at O’Hare, bringing more flights over the Northwest Side.

Quigley also said that one of his goals is to secure a federal grant for technological advances along the CTA Blue Line, which runs through a large portion of the 5th District.

Quigley also reported that he had concerns about the Trump administration’s decision to abandon a long-term plan to relocate the FBI headquarters to a suburban location. There have been allegations that Trump stopped the relocation because he did not want a commercial competitor to take control of the FBI’s existing location, which is located across from the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C.

Quigley has called on General Services Administrator Emily Murphy to testify about Trump’s involvement in the decision. Murphy previously testified that Trump was not involved, but a recent inspector general report from the General Services Administration states that her answers were incomplete.

Quigley was facing a challenge in the Nov. 6 election from Republican Tom Hanson.Park, 5320 W. Giddings St.