For years there was a busy and successful commercial airport in downtown Chicago right on Lake Michigan. At some point Mayor Daley decided he wanted it closed for his own agenda, but no one else would let it happen.
So, in the middle of one dark night in 2003, he got some contractor cronies to go out there and bulldoze the runway, damaging it beyond repair. This forced the closing of the airport.
>Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley forced the closing of Meigs in 2003 by ordering the overnight bulldozing of its runway without notice, in violation of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.
To this day, the site of the former airport is an undeveloped "natural preserve" and most Chicagoans have no idea that it used to be somewhere they could fly out of.
Funny story.