Entries associated with the tag "DuPage County judge Kenneth Popejoy":

If you want to see the Dead Zone, better hurry up.

The Dead Zone is, of course, the far northeastern corner of Bensenville, roughly 15 percent of the town. Using immense powers at the state, local and federal levels, Mayor Daley seized control of almost all the property there in order to plow it over and build a new runway and air control tower for O'Hare Airport.

Yesterday DuPage County Judge Kenneth Popejoy gave Daley the green light to begin demolition, ruling that there is no apparent environmental danger from tearing down the property. The city hopes to bring in the bulldozers as soon as possible, says Rosemarie Andolino, who oversees the mayor's O'Hare expansion program.

You might wonder why Mayor Daley would be so eager to proceed with a project for which there is no apparent funding or need, now that rising fuel costs have crippled the airline industry.

Well, I'm totally with Mayor Daley on this one. When I was about eight, I used to like to smash sand castles just for the fund of watching them fall. I mean, what's the fun of being an all-powerful mayor if you can't run people out of their community and demolish their homes?

In his ruling, Popejoy noted that more than 500 buildings in the Dead Zone are vacant and he called them an "eyesore."

I'm going to have to disagree with the judge about this. There's nothing ugly about the Dead Zone. In fact, I find it a little -- oh, what's the word? -- stirring to stand on the quiet streets amidst the boarded-up, vacant houses and contemplate the tremendous political power it represents.

I suggest Judge Popejoy amend his ruling and force Mayor Daley to keep the buildings standing until -- or if -- the city ever has the money it needs to build the stuff it wants to build.

In the meantime, state senator James Meeks should lead bus tours (but not bike rides) of children from Chicago's chronically broke public school system so they can see firsthand how their government spends its money. 

My law enforcement sources up in Bensenville tell me that since I wrote about the Dead Zone last week in the Reader it's has become a tourist hot spot.

Apparently, people are driving through to gawk at the ghost town left in the wake of Mayor Daley's ambitious plan to clear out a chunk of Bensenville and turn it into a piece of O'Hare Airport.

There's a sense of urgency. At the moment lawyers for the city are asking Du Page County circuit court judge Kenneth Popejoy to lift his restraining order that keeps the city from bulldozing the houses it owns in the area.

Using real estate sales tactics straight out of David Mamet, the city pressured folks into selling more 500 pieces of property over the last two years. The city says the land is essential to the O'Hare Modernization Program.

Bensenville's fighting on just about every legal front, including arguing that demolishing the buildings will damage the environment. The city countered by hiring a consultant who's now testifying before Judge Popejoy that the demolition will have a minimal environmental impact.

The hearing ends on Thursday. If Judge Popejoy lifts his injunction, the city can bring in the bulldozers and give the Dead Zone the Meigs Field treatment.  Provided, of course, that Bensenville doesn't win another temporary restraining order with an appeal.

In any event, you should take the opportunity to experience the Dead Zone in all of its eerie ghostliness before it's too late. I think it's more fun -- and a lot more educational -- than a trip to Navy Pier, Millennium Park, or any of Mayor Daley's other tourist attractions.

Stay tuned for my bicycle tour of the area.