This is an excerpt from the press conference Daley held after destroying Meigs. Those of you in Chicago should go take this reporter out for a beer. He or she made him look like the dictator he obviously thinks he is.
If you don't mind signing up, I would recommend
www.chicagotribune.com . Do a search for "Meigs" and you'll see some good editorials.
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From Chicago Tribune
The following is an edited transcript of Richard M. Daley's news conference with reporters Monday on the closure of Meigs Field.
"As most of you know by now, we have closed Meigs Field.
"We have done this to protect the millions of people who live, work and visit our downtown Chicago in these very uncertain times.
"Nine days ago, as you know, we announced that the FAA and the Homeland Security Department had approved our request for a temporary flight restriction over the greater downtown area.
"We are grateful to those agencies for approving the restriction, but it is simply not enough to ensure an appropriate level of safety and security to the people of Chicago.
"First of all, a temporary flight restriction is just that: A temporary. It could be lifted at any time, without the approval of the mayor, the City Council or the people of Chicago.
"More important, it does not address the problem that occurs every day as the aircraft approaches Meigs Field, within a few hundred yards--and only a few seconds flight time--of our tallest buildings.
"And not just our tallest buildings, but the hundreds of thousands of people who attend not only the Taste of Chicago and the Grant Park concerts, our museum park, Navy Pier, our water filtration plant, who will be using our beaches and visiting our museums.
"Those airplanes appear to be going to Meigs, but with a sudden turn they could cause a terrible tragedy downtown or in our crowded parks.
"That scares me, and it scares people who live, work and visit downtown and use our parks and work every day here in the City of Chicago. ...
"The closure of Meigs reduces our risk and the perception of risk, and it will make Chicago a safer city and make us feel like a safer city.
"Why did we act so quickly? Because the fears exist right now.
"To do this any other way would have been needlessly contentious and jeopardized public safety. ...
"I am not willing to wait for a tragedy--as some have asked me to do--to happen here before making a very difficult and tough decision."
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Reporter--Why did you do it the way you did it? In the middle of the night. I mean, there are people saying it's not that you closed it, but the way you did it.
Daley--We took appropriate steps to do it.
Reporter--Why do it in the middle of the night?
Daley--We made the decision and we did it for public safety.
Reporter--What about your agreement with the state ...
Daley--Had no agreement whatsoever.
Reporter--There is no agreement?
Daley--No. No.
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Reporter--The Friends of Meigs says you did it like storm troopers.
Daley--No.
Reporter--There have been people on the radio calling in and saying the manner in which it was done is dictatorial and it's like no public input and as Friends of Meigs in their press release says, "storm troopers in the middle of the night."
Daley--No.
Reporter--Why not?
Daley--Just not.
Reporter--Can't anybody explain why it was necessary
Daley--Necessary to basically close the airport, we believe, for public safety and that's what I said.
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Reporter--You had a political deal with former Gov. George Ryan.
Daley--Yeah.
Reporter--It didn't pass, but Gov. Ryan appeared to do everything he could to pass it
Daley--I did too. I think I had a lot to do with it too.
Reporter--Your party controlled the United States Senate then ...
Daley--But I worked with Republicans as well, thank you.
Reporter--Does this hurt your credibility with other politicians who might want to do a deal?
Daley--No. No.
Reporter--Why not?
Daley--It just won't.
Reporter--Didn't welsh?
Daley--No, I didn't welsh. There's no agreement. There's no federal legislation.
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Reporter--Why did you wait until now to do this? Did you wait until you determined through research that you had the legal authority ...
Daley--No. I think just the whole debate about the flight restriction--temporary flight restriction. How difficult that was, how hard it was to get as compared to Mickey and Minnie getting it.
Reporter--But you won that battle ...
Daley--No. No. We did not win it in the sense that Mickey and Minnie got it before us.
Reporter--But once you got it, why were you still determined to go the extra ...
Daley--Overall, when you talk about the safety of the buildings, our downtown, the safety of people working, the safety of people living, the concern that we have today is a valid concern.
Reporter--Do you feel a government that put Disney World above the City of Chicago ...
Daley--I think that was a mistake, yes.
Reporter--And you felt you had to do this unilaterally because the Congress and the White House weren't going to do enough for you?
Daley--Well, again, they have to understand when we talk about homeland security, it's not just in Washington, D.C. It's basically in America.
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Reporter--What about the argument that with the Meigs tower manned, the airspace was actually safer than it will be now with no one.
Daley--No. They have no firepower.
Reporter--But they could certainly notify people.
Daley--No firepower. They have no firepower.
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Reporter--Is it fair to say that if you had done it in an orderly fashion with a press release you would have opened the door for weeks or months of litigation and that would have basically not solved the problem?
Daley--You could answer your own question. You could answer your own question. You could answer your own question. I'm not going to answer that.
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Reporter--Mayor, are you confident that the vast majority of residents will initially support this?
Daley--Well, again, when you talk about public safety, the fear that people have, yes. We have the largest concentration of high-rise buildings in North America. We're very proud of that. We keep expanding that, as you know. And that's the safety, first and foremost.
Reporter--Did you consult any of the aldermen?
Daley--No, not yet.
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Reporter--Doesn't good government function best in the light of day?
Daley--Yes.
Reporter--What would have been the problem ...
Daley--That's why I'm here today. That's why I'm here today.
Reporter--What would have been the problem ...
Daley--We think it was appropriate dealing with public safety.
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Reporter--Mr. Mayor, will you recommend that the Park District make this a park?
Daley--That will be up to them. That will be up to them.
Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune
