by Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor 
(Adapted from presentation to S.T.A.N.D. — "Shut This Airport Nightmare Down" — 
Peotone, Illinois, May 11, 2006)
 

Thank you all for inviting me to your meeting. 

I am a civil rights attorney from Carbondale and the Green Party's candidate for Governor of Illinois. I drove all the way here from Carbondale to be with you tonight, about 5 hours. And when I'm done, I will be driving straight back for another 5 hours because, unlike professional politicians, I have to keep my day job and go to work tomorrow. 

Now some of you might be thinking, "I'm not going to vote for that guy. He's crazy to be doing that!" But I'm doing this because that's how strongly I feel about this issue. We have got to stop this foolhardy airport proposal.

I actually belong to a similar citizens' group in Southern Illinois that we formed a few years ago, called "CARE" — Citizens Against Reckless Expansion. That group was organized to fight against some equally foolish road expansion proposals — the proposal to expand State Highway 127, a nice country road, into a freeway, so that people could drive from St. Louis to Carbondale faster; the proposal to build a new Interstate 66 right through the Shawnee National Forest, and the proposed widening of Highway 13 between Carbondale and Marion. 

Fortunately, the first two proposals have more or less fallen through, for now, due to lack of funding. However, the Highway 13 proposal is part of Governor Blagojevich's "Opportunity Returns" program. This proposal is ridiculous because Highway 13 is already four lanes wide on that corridor and there is no traffic flow problem that can justify the expansion; there is no reason to widen it to six lanes. The so-called "Opportunity Returns" program looks an awful lot like "Pork as Usual" to us. 

Just like STAND opposes the Peotone Airport, CARE opposes these road projects because we see them as promoting more urban sprawl, more senseless development, more of the "Wal-Martization" of America. Just like you do not want to see your land transformed into another Chicago suburb, we did not want to see our land transformed into another Greater St. Louis area suburb. Like you, we do not oppose economic development, but we insist that it has to be smart development, development that makes sense for the people who live there.

So, if I am elected Governor, you will not need to "lobby" me to stop this airport. I am already with you. In fact, here is my membership application to join your organization! [Turning in application to STAND President George Ochsenfeld.]

You also will not have to worry about my "selling out" once elected. The Green Party is a party based on principles, not corporate money. We refuse all corporate campaign contributions. Our principles, what we call the 10 Key Values, include the Green values of Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice and Community-Based Economics. And these principles explain why I am completely with you in opposing this ill-conceived proposal to build an airport in Peotone.

Let's talk about Ecological Wisdom:

First, as I indicated, this proposal will promote urban sprawl.

An airport in Peotone will obviously lead to urbanizing this area, bringing in more auto traffic, more development, and more congestion, from here to Chicago. That's more wasted energy resources, more wasted time stuck in traffic, more pollution and more greenhouse gas emissions.

We need to preserve our agrarian land in the United States. In the U.S. today, there are over 38.4 million acres that are now paved over with roads and parking lots. That's more land covered in asphalt than the size of some entire nations. Every day, the United States loses 3,000 acres of productive farmland to sprawling development ­ the equivalent of Delaware every year. We can't keep going on like this. We are killing ourselves. The people need to make a stand now, just like you folks are doing here, and just like we've been doing in Southern Illinois. It's got to start somewhere, and it is starting with people standing up in their own communities, just like this.

Second, environmental sense means economic sense.

Agriculture and wide open spaces must be seen as an economic strength, not a weakness. The capacity of Illinois farmland to help meet our future energy needs through biomass energy and wind energy is tremendous and we have barely begun to tap into it. This will be a great source of economic strength and new job creation in the future ­ but not if we pave over it.

It also makes no economic sense to be expanding airport facilities and expanding more roadways from here to Chicago, at a time when the era of cheap oil is coming to a close. I just heard on the radio driving up today that oil is now up to $73 a barrel. We need to be promoting more sustainable forms of transportation like rail and smart urban planning, so that people don't have to drive so much. And if you want to talk about jobs, sustainable transportation like rail is a far better job creator than spending more government funds on roadways or airports. Every billion dollars spent on rail creates 7,000 more jobs than a billion dollars spent on road construction. That brings me to my next point about the environmental issues here: 

Third, energy-efficient mass transit is a far better way to address this problem.
 
I am a member of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association and I support high-speed rail in Illinois. That will go much further to alleviate traffic congestion and airport congestion than building this fool airport. It will be better for the environment and our economy.

Consider Greenhouse gas emissions: On average, the emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, for rail transit per passenger, are 4.5 times lower than those of a car and 7.5 times lower than those of an airplane. More importantly, there is potential for using renewable energy systems to run electric-powered rail. You can't do that with cars or planes. You can't put a solar panel or a wind generator on individual cars or planes to power them. But you could use solar or wind energy from the grid to power high-speed rail.

Consider Congestion Relief: Rail reduces airport and highway congestion and the associated pollution. Expansion of high speed rail in particular would reduce costs associated with highway and airport expansion as well as productivity lost in travel time. Rail can get you right downtown in Chicago, and most other cities, where you can then take mass transit to most destinations, or rent a car if you need. Airports are necessarily further removed from urban and mass transit centers and encourage more driving. 

Consider Speed: For distances of 500 miles or less, rail travel can be as fast or faster than other modes of transportation when all factors are considered (highway congestion, parking, going through airport security, travel to air hubs, etc.) Of course, this advantage will be heightened if we make the commitment to high-speed rail. With high speed rail, people should be able to get on a train in Chicago and be in St. Louis in a couple of hours, or Carbondale in a couple of hours, etc. There is no reason why we can't have bullet trains here just like they have in some European countries, and Japan.

Let's talk about Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice and Community-Based Economics.

First, this proposal is a huge waste of resources for an airport we don't need.

It makes no sense to be expanding air transit at a time when the era of cheap oil-based fuel is coming to a close. To the extent that some short-term relief is needed, the airline industry can expand O'Hare or use Rockford.

Second, you have a right to make your own economic decisions.

I'm sure most of you did not choose to live here because you wanted to become the latest Chicago suburb. You have a basic right to choose to maintain the character of your community. It should not be the role of State government to push you or force you to become something different.
 
Third, to force you to give up your land is a gross abuse of eminent domain laws.
 
About three years ago, I wrote something for CARE that I want to share with you, because it really applies to your situation as well. Let me just quote you a couple of paragraphs:

"These Projects [the road projects I referred to] Trample on the Property Rights of Farmers, Homeowners and Small Business.

"It is well established in our system of law and under our Constitution that a government of the people does have the right to take private property when it provides due process through condemnation proceedings and pays fair compensation and when it is legitimate and necessary for the common good. But it violates the spirit, if not the letter of the Constitution when a State government comes in and strong-arms people, taking their property for what is at best a highly questionable purpose, and which I maintain is actually destructive of the common good. Since the safety of Highway 127 can be improved by putting in a few strategically located passing lanes, there is no public necessity that can justify condemning and taking people's land for the entire stretch of Highway as proposed.

"The government should not be robbing farmers, shop owners in Pinckneyville [where the proposed 127 Freeway would go through], or homeowners to put in another freeway or widen an existing one. It's time for the people to tell their government, ‘Stop!'"

Folks, change just a few words — substitute Peotone Airport for Highway 127 and use the Rockford Airport for putting in passing lanes — and the exact same wording applies to your situation. Eminent domain should only be used when there is a demonstrated public necessity and a public good that will be served. Here, not only would this not be a public necessity or a public good; to take your land for this proposed Airport would actually serve to harm the public interest. It simply cannot be a justification for eminent domain. 

I must confess that I don't know exactly where Rod Blagojevich and Judy Baar Topinka stand on this issue — although, as far as I can tell, they haven't spoken clearly about it at all. (In fact, I'm not sure that I know where Judy Baar Topinka stands on any issue!) 

But now you know where I stand. I appeal for your help in our petition drive to get on the ballot, and then, in our campaign. To help in our petition drive, we hope you will sign our petition to get our State Slate on the ballot, and you can go to our website, www.whitneyforgov.org, to download petition forms and an instruction sheet if you are willing and able to help us further. Your support will be appreciated. Thank you.