No Airport in Peotone Group holds Harvest Fest

The group STAND--Shut This Airport Nightmare Down--held a "Footprint Harvest Fest" Sunday, October 9, in rural Will County. 

STAND officers state the purpose of the Harvest Fest was to reach out to individuals, groups, and elected officials to "help prevent this politically-driven project from becoming a reality." 

The keynote speaker at the Footprint Harvest Fest was scheduled to be Jon Stewart, the main organizer of the successful campaign to stop a 3rd runway at Heathrow Airport in London. 

STAND members say they are fighting to stop the State of Illinois from using eminent domain to gain control of land in the footprint of the proposed Peotone Airport.  Anthony Rudis--a 100 year old owner of property in the footprint--was in attendance.   Regarding the state's plan to use eminent domain to take his land, Rudis stated: "This land is not for sale, I do not want them on my property and I will do what I can to stop them.  This is terribly upsetting.  The FAA has not approved the project, and they have no business moving forward, wasting taxpayers' money."

Photos from the Harvest Fest:

Hand-made signs lead the way to Harvest Fest in rural Eastern Will County

Harvest Fest goers look out over land slated to be in or near the Peotone Airport footprint

Display of "No Peotone Airport" signs from throughout the many years the State of Illinois has been buying land and attempting to buy land for the proposed "Peotone Airport"

Will County map showing--in pink--the proposed initial airport footprint, and--in purple--the ultimate full outline of the proposed Peotone Airport Boundary.

No Airport in Peotone Group tries to transfer Cubs Goat Curse to Peotone Airport

Members of the group STAND--Shut This Airport Nightmare Down--created a crop circle in an Eastern Will County clover field featuring the No Airport symbol commonly seen on farmsteads and electrical poles throughout Eastern Will County.

Members of STAND then walked the circle with a goat.  STAND member Anthony Rayson stated the group was attempting to "transfer the Billy Goat Curse from the Chicago Cubs to Eastern Will County and stick it on this infernal Peotone Airport boondoggle.  We're sick of having our families disrupted decade after decade because of this monstrosity."

The goat was christened "Gary" for the event, after the currently operating Gary/Chicago International Airport:

People opposed to the proposed Third Chicagoland Airport paraded Gary the Goat around a No Airport crop circle in an attempt to transfer the Billy Goat Curse to the Peotone Airport

Rayson further stated: "We're not willing to to be forced out of our homes and farms for this nightmare political boondoggle. "

Rayson acknowledged that some people might consider the crop circle and goat ceremony unconventional, however, "if people don't understand our logical arguments over the years, maybe they'll understand this nonsense" Rayson stated.

Watch the ceremony: