[WAUKEGAN, IL] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $1,000,000 in federal funding has been included in a Senate appropriations bill to help extend the main runway at Waukegan Airport in compliance with FAA safety standards. It will also help the airport keep corporate aircraft, and their associated corporations in Illinois.

“The Waukegan airport is a vital element of the economy in Northeastern Illinois. Major corporations with private aircraft consider the airport a crucial link to the places in which they do business around the world. These corporations provide thousands of jobs in Northeastern Illinois and their economic impact cannot be understated,” Durbin said.

Current Federal Aviation Administration airport safety requirements call for unobstructed safety areas 1,000 feet long at the ends of the runways. Waukegan Airport currently does not have these 1,000 foot safety areas but has been granted an exemption because the runway condition existed prior to the creation of the safety regulation. The 1,000 foot safety area requirement will be enforced by the Federal Aviation Administration at such time as the runway undergoes major repairs or resurfacing. The existing runway at Waukegan was resurfaced in 1986 and has a projected life of 25 years.

The minimum runway length needed to support short ranged corporate jet aircraft is 5,000 feet under optimum weather conditions and long-ranged corporate jets that frequently fly direct international trips from Waukegan Airport require even more space.

To shorten the runway to 4,100 feet in length would mean the airport would be unusable to corporate jet aircraft. Waukegan Airport officials asked Durbin to secure federal dollars for the project because they feared those corporate jet owners would choose to relocate to another city or state and the airport would no longer be able to be financially self sustaining.

The funding Durbin secured will help bring Waukegan Airport into compliance with Federal runway safety standards by adding 1,000 foot safety areas to the ends of the existing 6,000 foot runway.

Durbin secured the funding in the fiscal year 2007 Transportation Appropriations bill. The full Senate is expected to approve the bill when Congress reconvenes in September.