Ginger Evans, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation, will step down on August 1, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced. Emanuel appointed Jamie Rhee to be Evans’ successor. The Chicago Department of Aviation runs O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Midway Airport (MDW).
“When I appointed Ginger three years ago, I tasked her with specific goals to modernize our airports and strengthen our status as a global transportation hub so that Chicago’s distinguished airports would not only be the busiest, but the best,” says Emanuel. “In a herculean feat accomplished in a small amount of time, Ginger has negotiated a historic $8.7 billion agreement to modernize O’Hare; opened two new runways and the first new gates in 25 years; undertaken the largest investment plan for Midway in nearly two decades; and attracted new airlines and services to make O’Hare not only the best connected airport in the nation, but the only American city to offer direct flights to all six major continents.”
Rhee started her career with the City of Chicago in 1994 as an airport information officer. Rhee has worked for the city for nearly 24 years in various roles and is currently Chicago’s chief procurement officer. She previously served in various roles at the CDA, most recently as the general counsel for the O’Hare Modernization Program.
“Since my first days in office, Jamie been a trusted advisor and has impressed me with her remarkable intellect, incredible work ethic and dedication to ensuring that Chicagoans from all walks of life have the opportunity to earn contracts with the City of Chicago,” says Emanuel. “As a procurement expert, lawyer and former employee of the Department of Aviation, Jamie will be able to oversee upcoming construction projects while also managing airport operations, and there is no doubt in my mind that Jamie is the right person to lead the aviation department to ensure Chicago’s economic vitality and cement our status as a global hub.”
In 2017, ORD and MDW airports handled more than 100 million passengers, surpassing the previous record set in 2016. Total air cargo tonnage handled at O’Hare was approximately 1.9 million tons, representing a nearly 12 percent increase over the previous record for the airport also set in 2016.
The O’Hare 21 vision calls for bolder, bigger and more connected ORD. Central to this vision, the unprecedented $8.7 billion terminal expansion program will transform the airport with new facilities and gates to increase ORD’s connectivity, efficiency and capacity. The terminal investments complement several O’Hare 21 projects underway today, including the expansion of Terminal 5; a new multimodal facility; and the completion of the final runway, runway 9C/27C; and the airfield modernization program by 2021. Over the next decade, these investments will ensure ORD remains a top global hub and that Chicago’s most important economic engine is equipped for future success.
