“We’ve not taken a position on it at all,” said Henderson. “It’s really what I consider one of those issues that you can build a case on either side.”

Scott Tischler, president of the Madison County Council, said that the council has not been contacted about the airport. Further, he said, he does not know whether the council has any authority over approving an airport.

“If something is done in the unincorporated area of the county, I’m sure the council can be brought into the issue,” said Tischler. “I know very little about (the airport) at all.”

Ockomon says that there’s a lot of “political interest” in creating the airport.

“There’s a behind-the-scenes motivation for investment down there,” he said. “That’s not something that we want to entertain.”

2. Who has the power to make the airport happen?

Madison County, the body that governs the area being studied for the proposed airport, would have to develop a master plan for the airport and turn it over to the Federal Aviation Administration to receive federal funding.

Or, if Anderson or another municipality annexed the land, it could follow the same procedure.

The FAA has no involvement yet, said spokesman Tony Molinaro of the FAA’s Des Plaines, Ill., office. The FAA hasn’t been presented a plan for the airport.

“In this case, we are aware of the discussions going on, but nothing has been formally given to us,” he said.

If the FAA were presented with a master plan, said Molinaro, it would look at issues of air space, other area airports and possible environmental issues. In fact, a government body has to approach the FAA only when it is seeking federal money, or when there is the issue of air space or the closing of another airport.

“But for the most part, with big projects like this, they’re asking for federal dollars,” he said.

The proposed site for the airport is zoned agricultural. But Jerry Bridges, head of the Madison County Council of Governments, said that spot zoning could change the area to an airport, or even residential, zone. Currently, the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals recommends zoning changes that are ultimately approved by the commissioners.

The airport is just an idea at this point, several sources have said, and it would take many years, plus cooperative local governments, to make it a reality.