Mary Rose Loney

Mary Rose Loney (1952-2020) was born and raised in Pittsburgh. She first came to Chicago in 1989 to serve as the city’s deputy aviation commissioner. In 1996 she was lured back to Chicago by Mayor Richard J. Daley to be the Chicago Aviation Commissioner. As the first woman to hold that position, she was a trailblazer. Among her accomplishments were instituting a more competitive bidding process, developing the long term capital program at O’Hare and launching the Midway Airport Development project. Much to travelers’ delights, she convinced downtown restauranteurs to open outposts at Chicago’s airports. A petite woman, she was described as “hell on heels” and not afraid to take on clout-heavy airport contractors.

Why this stop? The Blue Line Cumberland stop is an 8 minute L ride from O’Hare Airport.