From the roar of planes overhead to the earth below the runways, airports have long been a point of contention between Chicago and its neighbors. In 1989, a group of suburban mayors declared all-out war with Chicago over the proposed expansion of O’Hare International Airport. The struggle, contentious or not, inspired former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to later call for region-wide economic cooperation.
On Monday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel continued that conversation in a meeting with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. To find out more about their priorities for cooperation with the City of Big Shoulders, Eight Forty-Eight was joined by three mayors who attended the meeting: Larry Hartwig, mayor of west suburban Addison and the executive coard chair of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus; Ed Zabrocki, mayor of Tinley Park and vice-chair of the caucus and Gene Williams, mayor of Lynwood and president of South Suburban Mayors and Managers.