Rahm Emanuel wanted to expand O'Hare airport and partner with Elon Musk on high-speed rail. Now what?

CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's announcement Tuesday that he won't seek re-election means his massive O'Hare International Airport expansion plan, and a proposed underground high-speed rail line into the airport, won't come to fruition under his watch.

Strong airline support means the $8.7 billion terminal expansion project will likely go ahead, regardless of who is mayor, though most of the borrowing still has to be approved by the City Council. But Emanuel's departure next year calls into question the future of the more controversial rail project proposed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, said DePaul University transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman.

Schwieterman called the O'Hare eight-year terminal plan Emanuel's "crowning achievement," adding to and completing expansion