Opening statement: No South Suburban Airport My family is moving to the rural town of Beecher IL. this weekend (3/31/2012) and plan on living there for many years to come. It's the beauty and the serenity that brought us to this small town. We have been doing more research about the proposed airport and now realize that if it goes through, it will be in our backyard. We are moving to Beecher to get away from the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded towns of the north for quiet and tranquility. Small town atmosphere is and will always be our family dream. An airport will destroy Beecher and it's neighboring towns. We strongly oppose an airport being constructed now or in the future. 10 GOOD REASONS TO STOP THE PEOTONE AIRPORT It is absolutely unnecessary. Chicago's air traffic needs can be easily met without it. Chicago's south side already has easy access to 2 commercial airports: Midway and Gary/Chicago. It will cause sprawl on an unprecedented scale, ruining the rural areas south of Chicago with hundreds of square miles of development. It will destroy more than 1,200 acres of floodplain, which could lead to greater flooding in nearby communities. At over 40 miles from the Loop, Peotone is about one-third of the way to Champaign-Urbana. It will destroy over 15,600 acres of prime farmland within the airport footprint and would encourage sprawl that could destroy hundreds of thousands of additional acres of farmland. It will lead to over 140 million pounds of new air pollution in Kankakee, Will, southern Cook, and Lake (Indiana) Counties. It will pave over more than 180 acres of wetlands and 7 miles of streams, reducing fishing, hunting and bird watching. It will mean over 120 million pounds of extra trash in communities south of Chicago, including over 3 million pounds of hazardous and industrial wastes. All major airlines oppose it. It will increase local demand for water by almost 50 million gallons per day--at a time when some areas south of Chicago are already facing potential water shortages. Researched & written by Openlands Project