Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Leads Jobs Summit on Economic Benefits of Completing Western Access to O’Hare

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi today hosted a jobs summit on the economic impact of developing western access to O'Hare International Airport at a bipartisan gathering of key stakeholders, including government, business and labor leaders. Rep. Krishnamoorthi held the event in Schaumburg and led discussion of the economic benefits the infrastructure project would bring to Chicago's west and northwest suburbs. Rep. Krishnamoorthi was joined in addressing the crowd by a panel of speakers which included Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, and Marc Poulos, Executive Director of the Foundation for Fair Contracting (FFC) and a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. As part of the jobs summit, Rep. Krishnamoorthi circulated a letter to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to urge the board to support economic development in allowing the Western Access to O'Hare project to proceed.

"I'm glad we could bring together leaders from across the community to discuss the economic benefits of this project and the need to see it completed," said Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. "Simply put, the Elgin O'Hare Western Access Project will create jobs. This is one of the best investments we can make for our community to strengthen our economy, our infrastructure, and our entire transportation system. Western access to O'Hare will also ease traffic for the surrounding communities and allow O'Hare to become the 21st-century airport we all need."

"With more than a billion dollars from Tollway, local and federal partners already invested in construction, completion of the Elgin O'Hare Western Access Project, a project of national and regional significance, is of vital importance to the western suburbs, Chicago and the Midwest," said Illinois Tollway Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom." No other project has the potential to come close to delivering much-needed improvements to mobility and economic opportunities that will support the creation of 65,000 jobs for decades to come."

"Western access to O'Hare Airport will transform the economic landscape in DuPage County, much like we've seen on the eastern side of the airport," said DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, a Republican. "Western development will foster an international corridor of businesses seeking ready access to global markets."

The summit's other participants included:

State Senator Cristina Castro

State Senator Tom Cullerton

State Senator Laura Murphy

State Representative Ana Moeller

State Representative Christine Winger

State Representative David Harris

State Representative Marty Moylan

State Representative Michelle Mussman

Mayor Craig Johnson of Elk Grove Village

Mayor Al Larson of Schaumburg

Village President Deborah Bullwinkel of Villa Park

Mayor Nunzio Pulice of Wooddale

Mayor Rodney Craig of Hanover Park

Mayor Jeff Pruyn of Itasca

Mayor Franco Coladipietro of Bloomingdale

Mayor Steve Morley of Elmhurst

Billie Roth, Village President of Streamwood

Ed Ritter, Village President of Carpentersville

John Carpenter, CEO of Choose DuPage

Dave Parulo, CEO of Meet Chicago Northwest

TJ Ross, Executive Director of PACE

Ralph Affrunti, President of the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council

Carolina Martinez-Gutierrez, Project Administrator of the Chicago Department of Aviation

Joe Pastorino, Assistant to the President of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters

Tom Cuculich, Chief of Staff, DuPage County

Paul Fichtner, Member, DuPage County Board

John Loper, DuPage County Chief of Transportation Planning

Joan Olson, Communications Manager, DuPage County

Don Puchalski, DuPage County Commissioner

Chris Snyder, Director of Transportation, DuPage County

Sam Tornatore, DuPage County Commissioner

Raymond Rummel, Village Manager, Elk Grove Village

Frank Furco, Business Manager of IBEW Local 71

Ben Brockschmidt, Vice President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce

Mike Sturino, CEO of Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association

Joe Riley, Business Manager of Laborers Local 68

Leo Esparza, Business Manager of Laborers' Local 1

Karyn Robles, Schaumburg Transportation Manager

Mike Kleinik, Executive Director of Labor-Management Cooperation Committee