Business-Labor Airport Coalition Airport Government Position Statement
As a coalition of regional business and labor organizations, whose member companies and unions represent 137,000 voters in Will, Grundy, Kankakee and Cook Counties, we offer a new proposal for governing South Suburban Airport, since efforts to date have failed to bring agreement, despite good intentions.
We applaud the leadership shown by Illinois Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson throughout the debate. We fully support Senator Halvorson’s four principles to achieve common ground. These, briefly, establish safeguards against obstruction; provide fair and equal representation on the governing body; guarantee procurement that is transparent to regional business and labor; and ensure fiscal stability and long-lasting public benefit.
We take these principles a step further by proposing creation of an independent airport authority by the Illinois General Assembly. The authority should be comprised of nine members, six of which would be Will County citizens, plus two from south Cook County and one from Kankakee County. The governor and the state’s transportation secretary would serve as ex-officio members.
We further suggest that authority members be appointed from specific disciplines, e.g. business, labor, etc. None of the authority members would be elected officials, with the exception of the governor. This avoids potential conflicts of interest and the potential turnover of board members because of the election cycle. In creating the authority, the General Assembly should be very specific about the terms by which Illinois will transfer its airport assets to the authority.
This concept in large part mirrors the very successful governance structure of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, a proven concept that is understood by the Illinois General Assembly and the public at large. It guarantees regional representation while providing majority control for Will County, which is, after all, where the airport is to be built. Importantly, it is a fair and equitable way to transform Senator Halvorson’s principles into a fair and equitable governance structure for the airport.
Moreover, business and labor offer a wealth of private-side experience in marketing and workforce issues and we urge Governor Blagojevich to take advantage of this expertise in the airport development process. We are willing to meet with the governor at any time.
James Roolf (Coalition Chairman) President First Midwest Bank-Joliet Banking Center (815.774.2072)
John Greuling, President & CEO Will County Chamber of Commerce (815.774.6060)
David Hinderliter, President & CEO Kankakee River Valley Chamber of Commerce (815.933.7721)
Tom White, President Will & Grundy Counties Building Trades Council (815.729.1002)
Steve Magruder, President Kankakee Building & Construction Trades Council (815.935.5583)
Tom Villanova, President Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council (312.372.2049)
116 N. Chicago St., Ste. 101, Joliet, IL 60432, 815.723.1800, info@willcountyced.org