Plane Pull at O’Hare Raises Nearly $60,000 for Special Olympics

Teams of local law enforcement agencies and the general public participated in a larger-than-life tug-of-war challenge on Saturday, September 24, facing off with a UPS Boeing B757 aircraft weighing more than 180,000 pounds at O’Hare International Airport. The event benefited Special Olympics Illinois.

“On behalf of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Aviation, I want to thank the Law Enforcement Torch Run committee and Special Olympics Illinois for selecting O’Hare International Airport as the host location for the Plane Pull for a third consecutive year,” said Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino. “We are proud to support Special Olympics Illinois in its mission to provide year-round sports training and competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities.”

O’Hare was the host location for the Law Enforcement Torch Run Plane Pull for the third straight year, raising $60,000 for Special Olympics Illinois.

Twenty-six teams of men and women participated in the competition. Teams were divided into two divisions – the Open Division and Public Safety Division. Each team of 20 pullers attempted to pull the plane a distance of 12 feet, and the top finisher from each division faced off for one final pull to determine the Grand Champion team.

The winner in the Public Safety category was the Chicago Police Department. The winner in the Non-Public Safety category was Meade 1. The CPD Team earned the Grand Champion title by beating out Meade in the final pull competition with a time of 8.44 seconds.

Special Olympics Illinois is a not-for-profit organization offering year-round training and competition for nearly 21,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities and more than 6,000 Young Athletes ages 2-7 with and without intellectual disabilities. For more information, please visit www.soill.org.