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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF AIR TRAVEL WORKERS IMPACTED BY THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
WHEREAS, the United States federal government shut down on October 1, 2025, when lawmakers failed to pass new funding bills; and
WHEREAS, once the shutdown began, programs and services were halted and federal workers across the nation faced furloughs or working without pay, including those working as air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents; and
WHEREAS, federal workers already recently experienced massive upheaval due to cuts from President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year; and
WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, federal employees number more than 153,000 in Illinois alone with more than 33,000 federal employees in the City of Chicago and 58,545 across Cook County; and
WHEREAS, there are 77 airports in Illinois that are publicly owned, open to the public and eligible for federal funding; and
WHEREAS, airports in Illinois provide a number of benefits beyond commercial air travel, including health, welfare, and safety services such as medical transport and evacuation, flight training, law enforcement flights, military exercises, and search-and-rescue operations, all of which contribute directly to the quality of life of those who live and work in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, safe air travel relies upon the proper management, funding, and employment of TSA agents and air traffic controllers; and
WHEREAS, serious safety issues emerge when the proper funding and staffing that support air travel are abandoned; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Transportation Department has announced that 11,322 FAA employees were to be furloughed after the U.S. federal government officially shut down on the night of September 30, 2025; and
WHEREAS, air traffic controllers had already been feeling mounting pressure with the FAA about 3,800 controllers short of targeted staffing levels while ongoing mandatory overtime and stagnating wages continued to dampen morale for current controllers; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the government shutdown, air traffic controllers and TSA agents were required to work for six weeks without pay; and
WHEREAS, some air traffic controllers told NPR that, even though they've been able to get loans from their credit unions to cover their expenses for a few paychecks, others have been forced to take on part-time jobs in order to make ends meet; and
WHEREAS, there have also been reports of controllers calling out of work due to being unable to pay for childcare or gas; and
WHEREAS, on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration took the extraordinarily unprecedented step of reducing air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets, with flight cuts starting at 4% Friday, 5% Saturday and ramp up to 10% by the next week, in an effort to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the government shutdown; and
WHEREAS, considering the FAA directs more than 44,000 flights daily, the cutback impacted thousands of flights nationwide and gave airlines merely 48 hours to reconfigure their schedules; and
WHEREAS, over 100 flights were canceled at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway international airports on the first day of flight reductions, while over 7,000 delays were taking place nationally; and
WHEREAS, more than 1,400 flights to, from, or within the US were cancelled on Saturday November 8th with over 6,000 delays; and
WHEREAS, on Thursday, November 6, 2025, just one day after the FAA’s directive, a UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Louisville, Kentucky airport Tuesday, leaving a half mile-long debris field and 14 identified dead, including three pilots; and
WHEREAS, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 43 days after the shutdown began, the House voted to pass legislation to reopen the federal government and President Trump signed the bill marking the end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history; and
WHEREAS, despite the end of the government shutdown, the FAA announced Wednesday November 12th that reductions will remain at 6% after air traffic control absences drastically declined ahead of the end of the shutdown; and
WHEREAS, prior to the shutdown, controllers were already consistently working six days a week, up to 10 hours a day on mandatory overtime, with vacations strictly limited; and
WHEREAS, aviation experts warn that air travel in the United States will not immediately return to normal after the federal government reopens, as flight disruptions are expected to linger in the coming days; and
WHEREAS, these continuing delays will place travelers in a difficult situation as 2025 holiday travel is forecast to surpass 2024 levels, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium, with passenger bookings on major US airlines for Thanksgiving up 2.2 percent from last year; and
WHEREAS, as of Thursday, November 13th, nearly 1,000 flights into, within, and out of the U.S. were canceled, according to FlightAware a flight tracking website, and more than 450 flights delayed at airports nationwide - with most disruptions being reported at Chicago O'Hare International Airport; and
WHEREAS, following the disastrous air travel issues of the last several weeks, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation will hold a hearing on November 19th to examine the impact of the government shutdown on aviation safety; and
WHEREAS, it will still take up to two days after the government reopens for air traffic controllers to receive their backpay, while still facing dangerous staffing shortages with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noting that 15 to 20 controllers are retiring a day instead of around four retiring a day before the government closure; and
WHEREAS, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation (DOT), Illinois’ public-use airports generate $95.5 billion dollars in total annual economic activity, resulting in 500,000 jobs that can be traced to the aviation industry; and
WHEREAS, IDOT also found that aviation accounts for more than 4.2 percent of Illinois’s GDP and nearly five percent of the State’s jobs; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is home to both O’Hare and Midway International Airports who, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), jointly employ more than 54,000 direct employees; and
WHEREAS, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA), O’Hare ranked as the fourth busiest airport in the United States with over 38,000,000 enplanements in 2024, while Midway ranked at 31st with 10,360,093 enplanements; and
WHEREAS, according to Airports Council International (ACI), O’Hare ranks as ranked 2024’s second-busiest airport in the world for aircraft movements and the eighth busiest in the world for passengers; and
WHEREAS, according to IDOT, last year alone over 87.4 million commercial passengers flew to, or through, Illinois airports and Illinois airports saw over 2.5 million operations (takeoff or landing); and
WHEREAS, of those 87.4 million passengers, O’Hare processed more than 80 million, an 8.3% increase over 2023; and
WHEREAS, it remains vital to the safety and wellbeing of all Cook County residents, and residents across the State of Illinois and the United States, that air travel and its workforce be maintained at the necessary funding levels at all times;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does herby commend all air travel workers within Cook County, Illinois, and nationwide for their continuing dedication to the safety and wellbeing of all travelers across the country in the face of an unprecedently long government shutdown; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does herby call upon the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration to properly staff and pay air travel workers, especially air traffic controllers, so as to actually serve travelers, businesses, and medical teams; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this text be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body, and suitable copies be tendered to President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, Governor JB Pritzker, Illinois Senate Leader Don Harmon, and Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Welch.
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