Partner Event | Dave Truitt Film Series – “Holding Pattern”

The Chicago History Museum is proud to host the FREE premiere screening of the documentary film Holding Pattern, an unprecedented chronicle and intimate portrait of the conflict surrounding the proposed third Chicago airport. For over 20 years, filmmakers Tom Desch (Walkable USA, An American Home) and Brian Kallies (Lincoln Is Crying, Gaming Wall Street) have documented the ongoing saga of a proposed third Chicago airport its impact on communities in Chicago’s Southland and exurbs near Peotone, Illinois. Immediately following the screening, former Fox News Chicago reporter Mike Flannery will moderated a panel discussion with: Tom Desch, director/writer/producer Brian Kallies, producer/writer/editor John Davies, executive producer Delmarie Cobb, airport proponent and long-time political strategist and analyst Judy Ogalla, anti-airport activist and Will County Board Official Since 1985, plans for a third major airport in Chicago’s far south suburbs (full footprint would be larger in land area than New York’s Manhattan Island) have increasingly gained momentum. Proponents of the airport claim it would alleviate air congestion, meet growing passenger demand, and create thousands of much needed jobs in the economically struggling Southland. Anti-airport activists decry the plan as a potential environmental disaster, the destruction of irreplaceable farmland, and a waste of millions of taxpayer’s dollars. Still in play, this political football has spanned the administrations of seven Illinois governors and as many Chicago mayors. Free; RSVP required. The screening of the documentary Holding Pattern is underwritten by the DAVE TRUITT Historical Documentary Series. Questions? Contact Eric Miller, development coordinator, at miller@chicagohistory.org or (312) 799-2110. About the Film The 56-minute Holding Pattern documentary frames this ongoing battle through the lens of two anti-airport activists, George Ochsenfeld and Judy Ogalla; and two airport proponents, political pundit Delmarie Cobb and former Park Forest, IL mayor John Ostenburg. Over the course of 20+ years, the filmmakers take an up-close and personal look at how the airport project has impacted the lives of Ochsenfeld and Ogalla, their personal relationships, and their evolution from citizens to activists to politicians. Cobb and Ostenburg, who have championed the airport for decades, address the political complexities of the project, and explain why they believe eminent domain (the government’s power to seize private land for public use) is justified and could change thousands of lives for the better. Holding Pattern is executive produced by veteran television showrunner and documentary filmmaker John Davies whose many national credits include the WTTW Chicago productions Sneak Previews, Wild Chicago, Heroes on Deck, and The First Jetliner. The documentary is also executive produced by Robert Bied, President of Captain Dave’s Foundation and The Chicago Marine Heritage Society.