Chicago and the Curse

....or should I say blessing?  There is definitely something going on with my industry and the unexplained coincidences surrounding their annual national convention.  In the recent past, the annual convention (which is planned 7 years out) has been crippled due to:
1.  September 11, 2001:  Host city Washington, D.C. - terrorist attacks;
2. August 23, 2005:  Host city New Orleans - Hurricane Katrina;
3.  October 1, 2013:  Host city Washington, D.C. - government shutdown;
4.  September 26, 2014:  Host city Chicago, IL - All flights grounded due to fire at air traffic control center.
I was reluctantly packing my bag last night and contemplating what time I should leave for SFO to catch my flight to Chicago's O'Hare Airport.  This morning I awoke to a breaking news story just as the alarm clock was going off saying that all flights in the Chicago area have been grounded due to a fire in the Aurora, IL control center.  Nobody is going into or out of O'Hare or Midway Airports. 

This was breaking news at the time and I'm skeptical of media embellishing stories to attract viewers.  I hopped on the airline website and my flight still showed that it was departing on time.  Hmmmmmm.....  I'm also skeptical of airlines as they will string you along for all eternity with "just another 20-30 minute delay" while mum about details.

I'm ping-ponging between live television reports showing hideous chaos, cancellations, and lines at airports around the nation -- including SFO -- and the airline website still claiming that it's only a "slight delay."  

I'm left with the choice of deciding which report is as close to the truth as possible.

Today the television media wins my credibility vote.  I know... it's a rarity.... but today I think it's closer to the truth as I'm *still* on hold with the airline after 37 minutes after their recorded greeting said the wait time was 5-10 minutes.