Elk Grove Village sues FAA over over 'fly quiet' plan at Chicago O'Hare Airport

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (WLS) -- Christine Micholson said she knew, when she moved to Elk Grove Village more than three decades ago, she would have to deal with noise from planes at the nearby O'Hare Airport.

But in a year or so, she says, it's gotten much worse.

"Through the night, it'll wake you up. They are low. We are almost where we can tell the difference between a cargo plane and a passenger plane," Micholson said.

Micholson said she believes late night flights tend to include more cargo planes, which are noisier. She keeps her windows closed most of the time.

Elk Grove Village officials said their community, along with several other nearby suburbs, including Bensenville, are getting an inordinate amount of the noise from the airport because of the schedule for using the new runways.

They filed a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday morning, asking the agency to consider alternatives from a recent study that looked at noise levels in communities surrounding the airport.

"We just want what's fair. All we're asking the FAA to do is their job, required by law," said Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson.

The lawsuit accuses the FAA of failing to consider other plans that would rotate the use of the new runways, so the noise would be distributed more equally between communities, including Chicago.

"All we're seeking is for the FAA to consider all reasonable alternatives," said attorney Andrew Barr.

The FAA rejected a plan to rotate use of the runways this spring. Elk Grove Village officials say they're hoping their lawsuit will prompt the FAA to reconsider.

ABC7 reached out to the FAA, but they refused to comment on pending litigation.