Chicago Department of Aviation

Leadership

Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner (CDA) Rosemarie S. Andolino is responsible for the management and operation of O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Midway International Airport (MDW).

O’Hare International is the second busiest airport in the world with more than 878,000 operations and nearly 67 million passengers in 2011.  Approximately 50 passenger carriers operating from 189 gates provide service to nearly 200 destinations across the globe. O’Hare is also a leader in the air cargo industry; serving more than 25 cargo airlines and ranking 18th in the world by cargo tonnage.

Midway International, also known as the world’s busiest square mile, is the nation’s premier value-fare airport for point-to-point service. There were more than 255,000 operations and 18.8 million passengers at Midway in 2011, a 7 percent increase over 2010. Six airlines provide service to nearly 60 destinations from Midway, including international flights to Canada and Mexico.

Since Andolino was appointed as Aviation Commissioner in April 2009, the CDA has increased revenue generated at the airports while reducing expenses. At O’Hare in 2011, sales per enplaning passenger climbed 8.4 percent over the previous year and Midway sales per enplanements rose 1.5 percent over 2010. Also under Andolino’s direction, the CDA has eliminated more than $1 million in payroll costs by adjusting work schedules, and $2 million annually in operating expenses by closing an underutilized parking lot at O'Hare. While at the CDA, Andolino has prioritized air service development as well as reviving the CDA’s focus on customer service.

Commissioner Andolino is also charged with implementing the O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP) — an estimated $8 billion program which reconfigures O’Hare’s intersecting runways into a modern, parallel configuration to increase the airport’s efficiency and capacity well into the future. Under her leadership since 2003, three major projects have been completed on the OMP, including a new runway, an extension to O’Hare’s busiest runway and a new air traffic control tower. All three projects opened on or ahead of schedule, and nearly $40 million under budget.

Andolino’s leadership has brought the CDA to the forefront for airport sustainability. She led the creation of the OMP Sustainable Design Manual (SDM), which became internationally recognized as the definitive source for sustainable airport design and construction. Thereafter, she directed the formation of a working group comprised of national and international aviation, environmental and industry leaders to update and expand the SDM to incorporate the latest technologies, methods and best practices for sustainable airport design and construction, planning, operations and maintenance, concessions, and tenant activities. The result of this collaborative effort is the Sustainable Airport Manual (SAM) released in August 2009. The SAM is a living and evolving document positioned to become the international model for airport sustainability. Both Andolino and the OMP have been recognized for excellence in environmental stewardship by the U.S. Green Building Council, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, the United Nation’s Environmental Programme for Liveable Communities, as well as several government agencies and industry publications.

Andolino serves as Chair of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Legislative Alliance and a Policy Review Committee; and is a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, the International Association of Airport Executives Board of Directors, Airport Council International-North America, O’Hare Express Rail Blue Ribbon Committee, State of Illinois Elgin-O'Hare West Bypass Advisory Council, ENO Transportation Foundation, Italian American Executives of Transportation, Women in Aviation, Women in Transportation Seminar Advisory Board, International Air Transport Association, International Aviation Women’s Association, Lambda Alpha International – Ely Chapter, and the Bradley University Civil Engineering & Construction Advisory Board. She is also active in the community as a board member of Boys Town of Chicago and SOS Children’s Villages Illinois.

Her distinguished 20-year career in public service has included various positions within several City of Chicago departments, including Executive Director of the OMP and First Deputy Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.

Andolino is a native Chicagoan. She grew up in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village and graduated from Chicago’s DePaul University with a B.S. in Marketing and a minor in Spanish. She and her husband, the Honorable Mark Fary, currently reside in Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood.