Writing Samples:
"Build it AndWill
They Come?"
N'Digo Magapaper
July 2005
The Future is In Your Face
Book
"Sweatshops or No Sweat"
N'Digo Magapaper
October 2004
"It Won't Be Easy To Be Green"
The Council To Save The Planet Blog
"Crossing The Digital Divide"
N'Digo Magapaper
November, 2004
Shirley, This'll Piss
Someone off
(Blog Commentary)
Conrad Lawrence
(CV/Work Resume)
Creative Narrative
Resume
N'Digo Magapaper
July 2005
The Future is In Your Face
Book
"Sweatshops or No Sweat"
N'Digo Magapaper
October 2004
"It Won't Be Easy To Be Green"
The Council To Save The Planet Blog
"Crossing The Digital Divide"
N'Digo Magapaper
November, 2004
Shirley, This'll Piss
Someone off
(Blog Commentary)
Conrad Lawrence
(CV/Work Resume)
Creative Narrative
Resume
Build It And Will They Come?
N'Digo Magapaper -
July 2005 (Continued)
Access Versus Development
"Mendacity, mendacity, mendacity," Karas says, reacting to the criticism of the Gary/Chicago expansion. He pulls out an aerial photograph of the Gary/Chicago Airport (N'DIGO's cover photo), and shows how he feels that the criticisms of his airport are untruths. "Down here," he points off the bottom of the photograph, below Interstate 80, "are some wetlands and wildlife preserves. Here, here, and here is where we are planning to expand."Everything he points to is in the photograph. The wetlands are not. Karas points out that the original plan for expansion that came out in November of 1991 was for 9,000 acres. It would have impacted the wetlands, surrounding residents, and even the interstate. It would have cost the $16 billion that was estimated. The new plans are for a 740-acre initial expansion with eventual expansion to 1060 acres. The price tag for his is $90 million. The only road to be moved would be a two-lane road that is used, according to Karas, "as a high speed local truck route." A junkyard will have to be displaced, and one toxic site will have to be cleaned up, making it more suitable for airport expansion than residential development. The rest of the expansion will be into state owned land, and "Asphalt Acres," a field used by a gravel company.
"People are confused. The airport plan in the '80s was for the '8Os," says Gary Mayor Scott King. He and Karas are both quick to point out that most of Congressman Jackson's present constituents live closer to Gary/Chicago Airport than Peotone. It becomes clear that when it comes to servicing the South Side of Chicago, the issue to both Karas and Mayor King is about passenger access to flights.
King and Karas are not the only critics who highlight the geographical differences between the two airports. Gary/Chicago is 35 minutes from the Loop. Peotone is an hour or more commute.
When asked about the type of economic development that can come from expansion of the Gary/Chicago Airport, Mayor Scott indicated that there would be lakefront development that would include a hotel-convention center, and that they are working with US Steel for further economic development. He also points out that people drive to work, and there is nothing keeping people from driving across the state line from Illinois to work in Indiana or near the airport.
The Gary airport has been where it is for 52 years. Recently, a couple of Casinos have sprung up around it, but any new economic development that hasn't already occurred is hard to measure. The last economic impact study was done six years ago, and was forecasting to 2004. There are plans to cultivate more General Aviation business - private planes and business fleets. This is not likely to have much positive economic impact on Chicago's South Side.
Karas says there are plans to expand the terminal based on bringing in more low-cost airlines. Since the end of February, Southeast Airlines has flown out of Gary/Chicago, and now Hooters Air has just made the Northwestern Indiana airport its home.
There are also plans for more cargo facilities, Karas says. More passengers through the airport could entice more service-oriented business and jobs. Cargo could attract more business to surround the airport, and consequently, more jobs. Whatever expansion the addition of runways, more flights, and cargo facilities can bring seems a little distant from South Side Chicago, since it would all be across the Indiana border. Without a study, it's hard to tell what economic benefit the South Side expansion of Gary/Chicago will bring. Still, for the high density population of the Southeast Side of Chicago, it will be a much closer drive than Peotone, and the South Shore Rail Line that winds through the South Side from downtown stops a block away.
The expansion of Gary/Chicago Airport is based on the traditional model of basing the airports operation around anchor airlines. The Peotone airport is based on being a private/public partnership. The airport, not the airlines will own the gates. A gate can bean Acme Airlines gate one flight, and an EconoAir gate the next. According to Jackson, the airport is a business venture.
The Council to Save The Planet
andWhimsical Surreality
