Homeowners Fed Up with Jet Noise to Appeal Taxes View Full Caption

EDGEBROOK — Colleen Cichon-Mulcrone is tired of being awakened by the sound of jets soaring over her Jefferson Park house, or having to raise her voice to be heard over the near-constant roar of planes using the new east-west runway at O'Hare International Airport.

After filing numerous complaints — with no relief to show for it — Cichon-Mulcrone is hoping to hit elected officials where it hurts as part of an effort to get them to spread out arrivals and departures among all of the airport runways, and turn down the volume over Sauganash, Edgebrook, North Park, Jefferson Park and other Far Northwest Side neighborhoods.

"We're going to get them in the pocketbook," Cichon-Mulcrone said.

Heather Cherone says residents hope slimming the property tax coffers will force action on the issue:

The leadership team of the Fair Allocation in Runways Coalition, which has been protesting the changes to O'Hare flight paths since the new east-west runway opened last October, are urging Northwest Side homeowners to demand that county officials reduce their property tax bills because the blanket of noise has lowered the value of their homes.

"This is one part of a larger strategy," said Cichon-Mulcrone, a coalition board member.

At a standing-room-only meeting Monday night at the Chicago Public Library's Edgebrook branch, the coalition walked about 150 people through the process of appealing their property taxes, providing them with step-by-step instructions — and a packet of supporting documentation.

"The fact that so many people are here speaks to the awful impact these planes have had on our neighborhoods," Cichon-Mulcrone said.

The deadline for homeowners in Jefferson Township to appeal their taxes through the Cook County Assessor is Sept. 4.

Helen Rosenberg, who has lived in North Park for 20 years, said she hoped many of the people would follow in her footsteps and win significant reductions in their tax bills.

"I feel good about blazing a trail," said Rosenberg, who saw her property tax bill reduced by 12 percent last year based on additional jet noise in her neighborhood. Rosenberg only cited jet noise on her tax appeal form.

As part of the $6.6 billion O'Hare Modernization Program, most planes now take off toward the west, while arrivals approach from the east, sending hundreds more flights over Northwest Side homes that had little or no jet noise in previous years.

Federal aviation officials said the flight patterns at O'Hare are designed to ensure the airport operates as efficiently and safely as possible.

"When the noise started, I said there needs to be a tax revolt," Rosenberg said. "We're making a statement to the elected officials: You have screwed us, and we're not going to take it."

Diane Yost, who lives in Sauganash, won an 8 percent reduction in her tax bill last year based on the noise from jets that now travel over her home. Like Rosenberg, Yost only cited jet noise on her assessment appeal form.

"That's a drop in the bucket," Yost said. "But it is one way of telling our elected officials that this is not OK. It is simply not fair."

Cichon-Mulcrone said she was confident that property tax appeals filed this year would be bolstered by findings that federal officials provided Chicago residents with incorrect data during hearings held before the modernization plan was approved.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel's decision to add eight new noise monitors on the Far Northwest Side and add a seat on the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission for the 40th Ward, which is 12 miles away from the airport, shows the city's awareness that the new runway has caused a big problem and will also boost the chances of homeowners' appeals succeeding, Cichon-Mulcrone said.

Elaine Tunnerman, of Albany Park, said she planned to appeal her property taxes because she has been forced to stay inside her home since the fall.

"I have severe asthma, and I've been locked in my house since October, forced to run the air conditioning," Tunnerman said. "The smell of jet fuel has been terrible."

For more Northwest Side news from Heather Cherone, listen here: