History
Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois, was established in 1917 as Chanute Field, making it one of the oldest Air Force facilities prior to its closure in 1993. Chanute began as a pilot training school during World War I, and after a brief closure following the end of the war, reopened as a technical training center. Fire protection training was relocated to Chanute in 1964 and continued until base closure. Chanute AFB was recommended for closure by the U.S. Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 1988. The base was officially closed Sept. 30, 1993. 

Environmental Activities
In December 2000, a portion of Chanute was proposed by the EPA for the National Priorities List.  In April 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency withdrew the proposal based on the substantive progress the Air Force had made on site investigations and cleanup. AFCEC continues to work closely with the Illinois EPA to ensure environmental cleanup activities satisfy all regulatory standards and protect human health and the environment.

The Air Force has invested more than $200 million on cleanup actions at the former installation as of 2023 and the cost to complete cleanup is another $76.4 million. Site closeout has been achieved at all but 14 sites. The remaining sites include closed landfills, a former solvent spill site, and several sites being investigated for 1,4-dioxane and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

A site inspection of potential aqueous film forming foam release areas identified the presence of PFAS in soil, groundwater, stormwater, surface water, and sediment. Additionally, a non-drinking water response was taken at Landfill 2, where PFAS were detected in landfill leachate. The Air Force installed a system to treat landfill leachate prior to discharge to the Village of Rantoul publicly owned treatment system. Subsequently, a multi-year contract for the remedial investigation (RI) of PFAS was awarded in June 2023 and the first field sampling event was completed in June 2024. Additional sampling events are planned through 2025 to identify the nature and extent of PFAS contamination and assess the risk to human health and the environment.  A 1,4-dioxane RI at former solvent release sites is being conducted concurrent with the PFAS RI.

Property Transfer
Today, the Village of Rantoul has attracted tenants in the fields of transportation, manufacturing, and education, including Lincoln’s ChalleNGe, an intensive, highly structured, alternative educational environment run by the Illinois National Guard and designed to give at-risk youth a new start at becoming contributing members of their community. The former base is also home to the University of Illinois’ Illinois Center for Transportation, one of the leading transportation research facilities in the nation. The University of Illinois is in the planning stages for the Illinois Autonomous and Connected Track, a state-of-the-art research and testing facility for developing and testing forms of autonomous transportation.

Chanute achieved whole base transfer September 2023.