O'Hare Hilton has a long history of political involvement

It took politicians to give birth to the O'Hare Hilton 28 yearsago, and they've had a hand in shaping the hotel ever since.

What makes the hotel unique is that it is built on city-ownedland, and it took City Council approval before construction couldbegin. And it has a monopoly - it is the only hotel on airportground.

The original hotel lease deal was signed in 1971, when Richard J.Daley was mayor. It opened two years later. Hilton Corp. managed itfor two previous owners before buying the lease in 1991.

The law firm of Michael Madigan lobbied City Hall to get theowners an extension on their lease from Mayor Eugene Sawyer'sadministration.

That 1988 lease extension was called "a giveaway" and a taxpayer"ripoff" by Richard M. Daley, who used it as an issue in hissuccessful campaign to oust Sawyer.

Daley went to court to try to undo the lease extension. When ajudge ruled against the city in the lawsuit, the city filed anappeal. The city dropped the case when the owners renegotiated thedeal.

The lease extension was extremely valuable to Paul Dupee Jr. andDonald Gaston, East Coast businessmen who owned the hotel throughtheir company, Midwestern Hotel Co.

Without the extension, they would have had to walk away from theproperty with nothing but the furniture when the lease expired in1993. Instead, they sold the lease to Hilton for $15 million.

Hilton has since put $28 million into remodeling the hotel. Itslease expires Dec. 31, 2018.