Durbin Urges United CEO to Keep Airline Headquarters in Chicago Area
DURBIN URGES UNITED CEO TO KEEP AIRLINE HEADQUARTERS IN CHICAGO AREA
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United Airlines, Glenn Tilton, urging United to keep their corporate headquarters in the Chicago area.
"The Chicago area and United Airlines have been partners for many years. This relationship has helped United become the nation's second largest airline and has generated $1 billion in wages annually for United employees in our state," said Durbin. "I urge United to choose Chicago as their new corporate headquarters if they decide to relocate. United should remain Chicago's Hometown Airline'."
United Airlines has been exploring the possibility of moving their corporate headquarters and has been searching for a new location. Recently, there were reports that the airline's parent company, UAL Corp., was looking to move its headquarters from Elk Grove Village, Ill., near Chicago, to Downtown Chicago, Denver or San Francisco.
"Moving United's headquarters out of our state would not only hurt over 16,000 United employees in the Chicago area, it would be a major setback for the airline," said Durbin. "United is as dependent on the contributions of their highly trained professionals and partnership with O'Hare as the people of Chicago are on its business."
United has announced that a decision whether to relocate and where will come this year, and that the airline is likely to move in 2007.
Text of letter attached:
June 7, 2006
Mr. Glenn Tilton
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
United Airlines
Dear Glenn:
I am writing to you regarding United Airlines' reported search for a new location for its corporate world headquarters. As you know from various discussions over the years, I support United's continued presence in the Chicago area, both as a central hub for the airline and as a home for its corporate headquarters.
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is United's global gateway to the nation and the world, and United should maintain its headquarters near its global hub. I strongly believe that the Chicago area offers United a variety of first-rate locations for its new corporate headquarters. The nation's third largest city has utilized its central location to become the crossroads of the aviation system, as Chicago has become a non-stop global gateway to 69 international destinations, offering more flights worldwide than any other city. Clearly, United has benefited from this location in becoming one of the world's leading airlines.
While I understand your desire to select a new headquarters to house roughly 400 corporate employees, which will enable you to consolidate out-of-state workers into the vacated office space in Elk Grove, it would be a setback to the region and United if the airline were to move its corporate headquarters to another state. United is one of the largest employers in Illinois, employing 16,000 workers in the region and 3,600 at its Elk Grove complex. These workers bring roughly $1 billion in economic activity to the region. While most of these jobs would remain in Illinois for the near future, if United's headquarters move elsewhere, over time many of United's operational employees may also move to the new headquarters. This, in turn, will undermine United's operations at its flagship hub at O'Hare.
Therefore, I hope you agree with me that United should remain as Chicago's "Hometown Airline". Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=256638&&