MAKE THAT 55 MINUTES. Milwaukee's Mitchell Field as Chicago's third major airport? More and more flatlanders have been crossing the Cheddar Curtain to use Mitchell. Coming up: cheap one-seat service to the Loop.

Once a new Amtrak station opens at the Milwaukee airport, [Wisconsin Governor Jim] Doyle wrote, the 70-minute trip from downtown Chicago to Mitchell by train would be about as fast, and often faster, than a cab ride from the Loop to O'Hare. At $20, the train to Mitchell also would be cheaper than the cab to O'Hare, which would cost $35 to $40, according to Amtrak and O'Hare.

Now let's talk about restoring bar-car service and 100 mph running on that route.