O'HARE — Northwest Side residents fed up with the constant roar of jets of will get several chances to tell federal, state and city officials to reduce the racket at several meetings set to take place in the coming weeks.
State Sen. John Mulroe (D-Norwood Park) and state Rep. Robert Martwick (D-Jefferson Park) will host a town hall-style meeting from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday at the Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave.
The meeting is designed to gather input from residents about the impact of the new flight paths to and from O'Hare Airport that many Northwest Side residents say have lowered property values and made it impossible to watch television, sleep or enjoy their yards.
Mulroe and Martwick brokered an agreement last month that prevented airport officials from dismantling the diagonal runway that many residents see as the last chance to spread out the air traffic — and reduce the noise over the Northwest Side — until city officials meet several times with members of the Fair Allocation in Runways Coalition about potential solutions.
The runway is still scheduled to be taken out of service Aug. 20, officials said.
In addition, federal officials will hold four workshops next month to give residents a chance to weigh in on the impact of the next east-west runway set to open at O'Hare on Oct. 15.
The open house sessions will be from 1-9 p.m.:
• Aug. 10 at White Eagle Banquets, 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles
• Aug. 11 at Taft High School, 6530 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
• Aug. 12 at Monty's Elegant Banquets, 703 S. York Road, Bensenville
• Aug. 13 at Belvedere Events and Banquets, 1170 W. Devon Ave., Elk Grove Village
FAA officials are conducting an initial assessment of whether more environmental studies are needed to determine the impact of the new east-west runway on noise and air pollution.
Originally, the FAA had planned to hold only two 12-hour meetings, but added two more after Mayor Rahm Emanuel objected.
The runway, on the south side of the airport, is being built out of the order laid out in a decade-old environmental study conducted before the O'Hare Modernization Program was approved by city, state and federal officials.
FAA officials and consultants will answer questions from attendees, who will be able to provide on-the-record comments after viewing schematics and diagrams about the runway.
The opening of that runway, at Berteau Avenue, could send even more air traffic over Edison Park, Norwood Park, Jefferson Park, Portage Park, North Park and Sauganash, where residents heard little to no traffic before an east-west runway opened in 2013, according to members of the Fair Allocation in Runways Coalition.
City officials contend the O'Hare Modernization Plan — designed to make airport operations safer and more efficient — is crucial to ensuring Chicago's growth by keeping the airport among the busiest in the world, encouraging both business travelers and tourists to visit Chicago.
The sixth and final east-west runway is set to open in 2020, officials said.
East-west runways allow planes to take off and land without crossing paths with other jets while on the ground, which aviation officials said are designed to reduce delays and increase safety.
In April, 408,468 complaints were filed with city officials — an all-time record and a more than 15 percent increase from the number of jet noise complaints filed in March, according to data released by the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission.
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