 In 2001, a compromise was reached between Chicago, the State of Illinois, and others to keep the airport open for the next twenty-five years.However, the federal legislation component of the deal did not pass the United States Senate.In a controversial and illegal move on the night of Sunday, March 30, 2003, Mayor Daley ordered city crews to make the runway unusable by bulldozing large X-shaped gouges into the runway surface in the middle of the night.