FAA Fines Over Meigs Closure

Saturday, December 4, 2004
City appeals fine for closing Meigs
The Chicago (IL) Tribune

CHICAGO — The city of Chicago told the FAA on Friday that its use of federal funds to demolish Meigs Field last year was legal and said the FAA had no grounds to fine it in the shutdown of the lakefront airport. The Federal Aviation Administration granted Chicago an extension last month to respond to why it should not be fined $33,000 for closing Meigs Field. The deadline to appeal the proposed fine was Friday.

An FAA investigation determined that city officials did not provide the required 30-day notice to the agency before Mayor Richard Daley ordered crews to bulldoze large “X’s” into the runway at the airport after midnight on March 30, 2003. The FAA proposed civil penalties of $1,100 a day, covering 30 days.