Gov. Mitch Daniels told a conservative Washington think tank on Monday that leasing Gary/Chicago International Airport to a private operator represents a "heck of an opportunity" for Gary.
"It is a tantalizing subject and one I have always been interested in," Daniels said. "And let me just say, if there is a place in America that needs something major and good to happen, it is Gary, Indiana."
The governor was speaking before the American Enterprise Institute, in Washington D.C. An audio recording of his talk is available at the institute's Web site.
Daniels made his remarks in answer to a question from a Crain's Chicago Business reporter, who asked if the airport can be privatized.
"Yes," Daniels said.
He then pointed out the airport has benefitted from the lease of the Indiana Toll Road. Daniels said the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority is funded in part with Toll Road lease proceeds. The authority so far has granted $20 million to the airport for its expansion project.
Gary Mayor Rudy Clay first publicly broached the idea of leasing the airport in October, when he said "private investment bankers" had approached him a month before.
Contacted on Wednesday, Clay still would not name interested investors. He said any public-private partnership for the airport is still in the "embryonic stage."
"As I said before, it could jumpstart our airport," Clay said. "The governor told the truth."
An exchange of e-mails between RDA Executive Director Tim Sanders and former RDA Chairman John Clark in July notes that Morgan Stanley is the investment firm interested in the airport.
"Don't know any more about it than that, but it sounds like progress to me," Sanders stated in one e-mail.
Clark is a senior Daniels adviser and also heads up the state Office of Energy and Defense Development. Ryan Kitchell, director of the state's Office of Management and Budget, and a representative from U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky's office, also were informed of investors' interest.
Daniels told the American Enterprise Institute the RDA may want to think of bumping the airport up on its "to do" list.
"They've made this their No. 2 priority," the governor said. "I rather thought it might be No. 1."
Airport Director Chris Curry on Wednesday said the airport authority has received no formal proposal for lease or privatization of the Gary airport. Four of the authority's members are appointed by the mayor, with Lake County and Porter County each having one appointment and the governor another.
On Tuesday, Curry received an e-mail from the Federal Aviation Administration reminding him an airport must apply to participate in an FAA pilot program if it has privatization plans.
Midway Airport in Chicago has applied to participate in the program and is soliciting bids from private operators. The FAA must approve any final deal for privatization, according to spokesman Tony Molinaro.
