tonyw
Well-Known Member
Here is a great letter from AVWeb.
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To the Honorable Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Sir,
I vividly recall my experiences as a youngster in the 1950's and 60's growing up in southwest Michigan across from Chicago near the lake. We frequently heard on WGN and other Chicago TV stations about "the Daley Machine," how its corrupt and self-serving system gained thousands of votes from the dead, how it bulled its way through any opposition, how it trampled the rights of so many citizens.
Now it seems the current mayor Daley has revealed more of that same seed of greed, deception and contempt for due process. His middle-of-the-night demolition of Meigs Field is, by far, the closest thing to terrorism Chicago has ever experienced. What a sad sham that, feigning fear of terrorist acts, he should sneak in, with the full support of the city police no less, to tear up the runway without notifying anyone - even the FAA - and wreak havoc on the assets of his own city! Talk about danger - what if someone had need to use the airport that night for an emergency other valid reason? If the danger from terrorism was so great why couldn't it have withstood action during the day with proper warning, rather than skulking around in in the dark of night like street thugs? It's obvious there was no real threat, just a selfish desire and disdain for anything else. What about the citizens whose airplanes remain trapped at Meigs, totally uniformed of the action, with no safe way to remove them short of dismantling? What about the entire region whose economy gained from the convenience and service that Meigs provided? What about the federal laws and FAA procedures he completely ignored, sabotaging the very safety which is FAA responsibility? What the about the concepts of law, integrity and due process that have been utterly trampled so he can have his precious park? What a sad day when the "leader" of one of our biggest cities himself designs a plan that would put honest people directly in harm's way, cause immediate financial and vocational harm to many others, and is nothing but a slap in the face to anyone who expects our governments to act responsibly and honestly. Mayor Daley clearly has learned more from Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, Adolf Hitler and other such pillars of society about dealing with his subjects than from the Constitution, the laws and the freedoms we claim to hold dear. If he is allowed to remain in office it is an insult to every honest voting citizen in this country. If he is not convicted of some criminal act it is an insult to every honest, law-abiding person in the country. At the very least his actions have severely eroded citizen trust in our governments.
I can assure you that in our frequent travels to the Midwest I will go out of my way to avoid Chicago. I will not do business there, I will not visit the city for any reason, and I will urge everyone I know to do the same. Besides being at the mercy of a self-serving, dictatorial and ruthless "mayor" in such a place, I would fear the likelihood of physical danger. After all, what might he choose to demolish next without telling anyone? A road? A bridge? perhaps a stadium, historic building or museum? I can certainly live happily and safely somewhere far removed from a city run by someone like Daley.
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[ QUOTE ]
To the Honorable Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Sir,
I vividly recall my experiences as a youngster in the 1950's and 60's growing up in southwest Michigan across from Chicago near the lake. We frequently heard on WGN and other Chicago TV stations about "the Daley Machine," how its corrupt and self-serving system gained thousands of votes from the dead, how it bulled its way through any opposition, how it trampled the rights of so many citizens.
Now it seems the current mayor Daley has revealed more of that same seed of greed, deception and contempt for due process. His middle-of-the-night demolition of Meigs Field is, by far, the closest thing to terrorism Chicago has ever experienced. What a sad sham that, feigning fear of terrorist acts, he should sneak in, with the full support of the city police no less, to tear up the runway without notifying anyone - even the FAA - and wreak havoc on the assets of his own city! Talk about danger - what if someone had need to use the airport that night for an emergency other valid reason? If the danger from terrorism was so great why couldn't it have withstood action during the day with proper warning, rather than skulking around in in the dark of night like street thugs? It's obvious there was no real threat, just a selfish desire and disdain for anything else. What about the citizens whose airplanes remain trapped at Meigs, totally uniformed of the action, with no safe way to remove them short of dismantling? What about the entire region whose economy gained from the convenience and service that Meigs provided? What about the federal laws and FAA procedures he completely ignored, sabotaging the very safety which is FAA responsibility? What the about the concepts of law, integrity and due process that have been utterly trampled so he can have his precious park? What a sad day when the "leader" of one of our biggest cities himself designs a plan that would put honest people directly in harm's way, cause immediate financial and vocational harm to many others, and is nothing but a slap in the face to anyone who expects our governments to act responsibly and honestly. Mayor Daley clearly has learned more from Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, Adolf Hitler and other such pillars of society about dealing with his subjects than from the Constitution, the laws and the freedoms we claim to hold dear. If he is allowed to remain in office it is an insult to every honest voting citizen in this country. If he is not convicted of some criminal act it is an insult to every honest, law-abiding person in the country. At the very least his actions have severely eroded citizen trust in our governments.
I can assure you that in our frequent travels to the Midwest I will go out of my way to avoid Chicago. I will not do business there, I will not visit the city for any reason, and I will urge everyone I know to do the same. Besides being at the mercy of a self-serving, dictatorial and ruthless "mayor" in such a place, I would fear the likelihood of physical danger. After all, what might he choose to demolish next without telling anyone? A road? A bridge? perhaps a stadium, historic building or museum? I can certainly live happily and safely somewhere far removed from a city run by someone like Daley.
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