{
  "id": 2387732,
  "title": "Chicago mayor bulldozed airport runway in 2003; site later became nature park",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/chicago-mayor-bulldozed-airport-runway-in-2003-site-later-became",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-21T13:23:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/in-2003-chicagos-mayor-sent-bulldozers-to-carve-six-giant-xs-into-an-airport-runway-overnight-stranding-16-planes-12-years-later-the-former-airfield-reopened-with-40-acres-of-prairie-wetlands-and-wildlife-habitat/articleshow/133405678.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Chicago's Meigs Field airport was controversially closed overnight in 2003. Six X-shaped gouges rendered the runway unusable, stranding sixteen aircraft. The city cited security concerns following the September 11 attacks for the closure. Twelve years later, the former airfield became a natural landscape. This site now features prairie, wetlands, and wildlife habitat for migratory birds.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}