I read with interest Guy Tridgell’s column comparing Governor Quinn's position on the third airport to that of former Governor Rod Blagojevich. And that's troubling.

One minute Gov. Quinn says he wants to build the airport "as fast as humanly possible." The next he says the airport is "a long way off."

One day he courageously begins condemning property for the airport. The next he’s talking about building the Illiana Expressway – not the airport – as his "legacy" in the Southland.

I support the Illiana Expressway. But that project is at least 15 years behind the airport in planning. It's complicated by virtue of being bi-state. Its alignment is anyone’s guess. Its financing nonexistent.

In short, there will be no groundbreaking for the Illiana Expressway under a Quinn administration, no matter how many terms he wins.

The airport, on the other hand, is close to being shovel-ready; and its economic impact would be far greater than a new road.

The airport facts are clear. The need for the airport has been verified by the Federal Aviation Administration. Its site is identified. Half the footprint is owned by the state. The master plan is now before the FAA. And the Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission (ALNAC) has $400 million in private funds to finance it.

The only holdup, according to Tridgell, is political stagnation in Quinn’s office.

Illinoisans shouldn't allow politicians to block economic progress – especially at a time of record unemployment, record home foreclosures, and record high taxes.

President Obama is calling for a national Jobs Summit. This week, he said, "We have an obligation to pursue every opportunity we can to create jobs." Meanwhile, Gov. Quinn is trying to plug a huge state budget gap. This airport would create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in tax revenues.

So it’s time for the president, the governor, and all elected officials to stand up for real jobs, to help real families, in Illinois, now.

This proposed airport would be built by experts with their own money – at no cost or risk to taxpayers. And that investment would create 16,000 jobs, grow our tax base, and maintain Illinos status as the aviation hub of the nation.

That's the real road to recovery and prosperity.