The new FAA tower at Lewis University Airport in Romeoville is operational. After years of trying to come up with the federal dollars to build a permanent tower, former U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski was able to secure $6 million in state capital funds toward construction of the $8.2 million, eight-story tower. Since the Joliet Regional Port District took over the airport in 1989, the facility has grown, both through the school’s already 50-year-old aviation program and a burgeoning number of clients using the airport. The airport, with more than 100,000 takeoffs and landings each year, had been the busiest airport in Illinois without a permanent tower. (Photo provided)