While dozens of businesses are leasing property from the Village of Rantoul on the former Chanute Air Force Base, the Air Force is still performing $55 million of environmental cleanup at other locations on the former base.

The cleanup focuses on contamination like asbestos and PFAS at sites across Chanute, which closed in 1993. 

PFAS stands for polyfluoroalkyl substances and are also referred to as “forever chemicals.” These substances take between hundreds to thousands of years to break down, lingering in the environment. They are a threat to water quality and human health, as they are known to cause cancer.

About $210 million has been invested in the cleanup as of April 2026, and Air Force officials said 95% of the sites with contamination have been addressed.

Mark Kinkade, director of public affairs for the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, said the high-risk PFAS sites are what the Air Force addresses first. The environmental cleanup focuses on reducing the risks to safe levels for people and the environment.

Four landfills, one solvent-spill site and ongoing PFAS investigations remain, Kinkade said.

But after taking over the ownership of the former base in 2023, the Village of Rantoul has stitched together an expansive patchwork of 52 tenants renting out buildings and hangars, as of February this year. 

The remaining cleanup is something the tenants at Chanute also need to consider. 

Christopher Milliken, community planning and development manager for Rantoul, said in an interview that in each lease agreement, environmental disclosures state the Air Force and federal government has the right to conduct testing on properties when necessary. 

Village leasing records show a striking diversity of businesses renting tens of thousands of square feet across the roughly 2,000-acre base. Tenants range from aviation hobbyists renting hangars to multinational corporations. 

The village generates an annual revenue of about $894,697 from the 63 leases on the base, according to leasing records obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request from CU-CitizenAccess.org.

A data center, a film studio, farms, industrial manufacturers, nonprofits, recreational facilities, antique tractor collectors and aviation companies are operating across the former base’s campus. Even the University of Illinois, which pays $1 per year, leases property along Titan Drive through 2049 for transportation research.  

Milliken said all the standalone buildings at the former base are fully leased. The only vacancy consists of a small office space in the Rantoul Business Center. 

Demand rises for base properties

Interest in the property has increased so much, “We probably don’t have enough space today for the demand that there is, honestly,” Milliken said. “From 30 years ago to today, there’s definitely been a transformation in terms of getting those buildings occupied and reused.”

The companies leasing on the base occupy several hundred acres of land, with several sites on the former base undergoing environmental remediation, including PFAS monitoring, groundwater sampling or structural hazard assessment. 

The village currently manages dozens of hangar leases. Milliken said he wants to attract aviation-focused manufacturing and hangar activities. 

“I want to see us kind of garner more aviation-related businesses,” he said, noting the importance of ensuring buildings are used for viable manufacturing rather than just warehousing.

One of the companies that has been leasing with the Village of Rantoul for several years is Saltfork Paintball. This business uses its space at Chanute to run a recreational facility that hosts open paintball play times, private groups and events.

“What drew us to the location was the space and flexibility,” Jake Myers, an operator at Saltfork Paintball, said in an email. “There aren’t many places where you can build something like this at scale, and Chanute gave us the opportunity to create something pretty unique.”

Rantoul City Schools also leases at the former base and has occupied 1 Aviation Center Dr. since summer 2022. Before the school district moved in, AT&T had occupied the space. Since then, it has expanded to meet educational needs by hosting the RISE academy educational program and its district office.

The district also made major interior upgrades to its space. It added bathrooms, extra classrooms, LED light upgrades and refinished most of the flooring and walls. District officials said they have tried to make the building as accessible as possible.

“I think the public often views the base as remote and separated from the rest of Rantoul, but our space is very accessible,” Scott Woods, superintendent of Rantoul City Schools, said in an email.

The site’s redevelopment is fueled in part by the Illinois Center for Transportation, which transformed the area along Titan Drive into a hub of advanced research for mobility-related projects when the center was established in 2005.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a long-term lease for the “Entire 900 Area” on Titan Drive, which is paid at a rate of $1.00 per year through May 2049. This innovative test bed has become the Illinois Autonomous and Connected Track (I-ACT), a 238-acre site testing smart mobility of the future.

The center manages approximately 70 projects each year with combined research and operational funds exceeding $10 million. Its leadership and direction come from Imad Al-Qadi, professor of civil engineering and interim center director. It supports a staff of more than 20 graduate students and more than 40 undergraduate interns.

“The university has transformed it into a dynamic research and testing hub,” Al-Qadi said in an email. “These relationships enable research to move beyond theoretical investigation into real-world application, underscoring a shared commitment to advancing next-generation mobility technologies.”

Lease revenue goes to maintenance and upkeep

In 2023, federal documents declared “Mission Accomplished” and indicated at least $76 million in environmental remediation remaining after the Air Force declared success. The environmental cleanup remains the Air Force’s responsibility and continues to remediate similar bases across the country.

None of Rantoul’s lease revenue is being used to clean up the land and dilapidated buildings that some occupy. Instead it is being put towards two different funds.

“The federal government, specifically the Air Force, is still responsible for the environmental cleanup,” Milliken said. “The village doesn’t necessarily get involved in that, outside of just the process, but we’re not paying for that in any way.”

Milliken said revenue from properties leasing on the airport goes towards the maintenance and upkeep of the airport on the site. Revenue from buildings outside of the airport go into an economic development fund, which is being used for maintenance and upkeep of those properties.

For most of the leases at Chanute, the rates are intentionally set below market value. Milliken said that the village does not have intention of making money off the leases, but wants to continue to use that money for the upkeep of the properties.

“As a village and a municipality, (we are) not trying to profit off the leasing of properties,” he said. “We’re just trying to cover our costs of maintaining the properties.”

While community perception about the base was once defined by a sense of loss, Milliken said he believes the tide is turning. 

“I think we’re really starting to see that turnaround … there’s much more optimism in terms of what the base properties are now and how it still benefits the community.”

The Air Force said it works closely with the village, property owners and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to keep the public informed on the progression of the redevelopment of Chanute. 

“This long-term approach ensures immediate risks and addressed quickly while sustained protections remain in place until cleanup goals are met or technology allows further remediation,” Kinkade said in an email. “Estimates can change based on a variety of factors and are validated and revised as needed during the annual budget planning process.”

The Air Force funds the environmental cleanup through the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program, which supports cleanup at bases nationwide. 

“Chanute does not have a dedicated fund, but its annual requirements are typically fully funded, and in the past Congress has approved supplemental PFAS funding that has supported PFAS work at the installation,” Kinkade said. “The remaining PFAS investigation, risk evaluation and remedy selection will take several more years, followed by remedy implementation and long‑term monitoring or management where needed.”

Kennedy Caldwell contributed to this article.