CHICAGO-Mayor Rahm Emanuel is sending a letter today to the Federal Aviation Administration that essentially kills any proposal to privatize Midway Airport here.
The decision by the mayor comes after he rejected the sole bid from a private group as “inadequate” to take over operations at the airport. A city spokesperson did the leave the door open for the city possibly revisiting the airport's privatization sometime in the future.
In the letter to the FAA, Chicago Chief Financial Officer Lois Scott says the city has decided to withdraw its application to turn the Southwest Side airfield over to a private group, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
"As you know, the city of Chicago set high standards in exploring a potential leasing of Midway Airport that would ensure taxpayers and our airport stakeholders–including the airlines, passengers, and workers−received a fair and equitable deal," the letter states. "Throughout the process, the city remained committed to proceeding only if a transaction could meet the criteria. We said from the beginning that any potential lease would be structured differently and that it would not be supported unless very specific conditions were met. At this time, we do not believe these conditions will be met." See story in Crain's Chicago Business.
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