Dozens of suburban Chicago homeowners, upset by noise levels at O’Hare Airport, are suing the city of Chicago saying their homes have become unlivable since the airport opened its new runway.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, claims that the 10C runway, which opened two years ago and is used for hundreds of flights both day and night, “has substantially increased the east and west flow of aircraft arrival and departures at O’Hare, and the noise levels associated with the airplanes using the runway have increased over time.”
The roughly 70 Bensenville homeowners involved in the suit live just west of the runway, within the lowest portion of the runway’s flight path. The suit claims the noise “has dramatically and negatively forever altered the lives of the residents, and has caused their homes to plummet in value and to be undesirable, unusable, and unsafe.”
As recently as this summer, the city pledged to make changes to address the noise, including a plan to rotate runways at night and exploring ways to provide sound insulation for area residents.
“We are sympathetic to the noise complaints raised by the plaintiffs and a comprehensive plan to address airport noise – particularly night-time noise and those most impacted by it – is currently being implemented,” the Chicago Department of Law said in a statement.
Residents said the city told them the runway would not impact their lives, property or neighborhoods, but the suit alleges the air traffic has “caused shingles to come loose; left an oily residue on their homes and property; caused cracking of walls, ceilings, windows, and foundations; caused leaking roofs; caused ceiling fans to come loose; resulted in soaring electric bills (due to the Residents’ inability to open windows because of the excessive and constant noise); caused intermittent loss of cell phone and internet connectivity; and caused intermittent loss of electricity.”
Some residents said the noise has also affected their health.
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“It has affected my hearing, affected my nerves because I’m constantly jittery,” said Farideh Bruessard.
Some even said they fear for their safety.
“If I got a trampoline in my yard, I’m going to jump, I’m going to catch the landing gear, honestly,” said Czeslaw Gorniak.
The city, however, denies the residents' claims.
"We do not believe those complaints are properly addressed through litigation. In particular, we do not believe the plaintiff’s complaint has merit and we intend to vigorously oppose it," the statement said.
Attorney Mike Leonard said most of the residents have lived in the homes for decades.
“The city of Chicago has taken their property without just compensation to them,” he said.
The suit seeks compensation, but does not specify an amount, and notes that residents should be paid more than market value of their homes prior to the opening of the runway.
“I came 42 years ago and I work whole life to have this,” said homeowner Jolanda Gorniak. “Now look what we got.”
