‘We get no relief’: Why is neighborhood miles from O’Hare enduring jet noise?
Tom Lubas’ southwest Roselle neighborhood is about 20 miles and a 35- to 45-minute drive to O’Hare International Airport.
So why is he besieged with airplane noise?
“Literally, the house and the windows shake at times when the big jumbo jets fly over,” Lubas said. “They drop the landing gear basically right over our house so it causes a noise blast.
“On bad days, it can be 75-80 decibels every 60 seconds. We get no relief.”
Lubas and his wife, who have three young children, bought their home in 2014.
“When we first moved in, everything was great,” he explained. But over the years, amid O’Hare’s shift to a parallel east/west runway system, aircraft noise spiked.
“I’ve been woken up at 3:30 in the morning with the house shaking. I have my air and my heat on all the time because I can’t open the windows,” Lubas said.
His main concern is a “landing imbalance that continues on the south end of the airport, specifically when the planes are landing from the west.”
For years, communities near the south airfield have typically taken the brunt of jet noise from O’Hare while a runway modernization project unfolded. The parallel runways were intended to spread jet noise evenly around the region when completed in late 2021 but it’s been a slow, complex evolution.
“I have made constant complaints over the years via the various complaint portals and nothing has ever been addressed,” Lubas said, adding his home isn’t eligible for soundproofing aid.
“It is infuriating.”
Asked about Lubas’ dilemma, the Chicago Department of Aviation said the O’Hare flights that primarily affect Roselle residents are arrivals in “east flow” and departures in “west flow.”
“Your reader describes arrivals landing from the west which would correspond to ‘east flow’ operations,” CDA Communications Director Kevin Bargnes said. “When in this configuration, arrivals into O'Hare landing on Runway 10C/28C (on the south airfield) do overfly Roselle during their approach to the airport.
“However, Runway 10C/28C only accounted for 10% of all arrivals over the last 30 days (between late December and late January). This is because O’Hare has predominately been in a ‘west flow’ configuration due to wind conditions,” Bargnes said.
The CDA offers portable noise monitors to homeowners for two weeks. Participants receive a detailed summary of noise levels and flight operations. For information and to apply, visit oharenoise.org/noise-management/noise-monitors.
There’s also a flight tracking program called WebTrak at flychicago.com/community/ORDnoise/FlightTracker. It “allows residents to watch the movement of flights and air traffic patterns across the region, including aircraft within the vicinity of your home,” Bargnes said.
Recent O’Hare data from November shows 56% of daytime departures and 52% of arrivals used the north airfield. Overnight, 51% of departures and 58% of arrivals used the south airfield.
A proposed overnight runway rotation plan is in the preliminary stages of a federal review process.
You should know
What does east flow and west flow mean? “Aircraft take off and land into the prevailing winds,” the CDA explains.
In east flow, planes depart the primary runways to the east while jets approach from the west. Typically, east flow occurs during inclement weather.
“Conversely, in west flow, aircraft depart the primary runways to the west and arrivals come from the east,” officials said.
One more thing
Just because you’re going to the Chicago Auto Show doesn’t mean you have to drive. The CTA is offering a special shuttle bus that picks up Metra riders at Union Station and Ogilvie Transportation Center.
Buses operate every 12 to 20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Feb. 16; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 9; and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 17.
They are designated as “To Auto Show McCormick Place” or “Metra Stations/Via Downtown” and fares are $2.25.
And — if you need a new I-PASS sticker or have to renew your vehicle registration, the Illinois tollway and Illinois secretary of state’s office both have kiosks at the show.