Chief Executive Mayor

By Margaret Lyons in News on Nov 9, 2007 6:42PM

Business Week has launched its latest title: BW Chicago. And the first story heralds Mayor Daley as "The CEO of City Hall." At Business Week, this is high praise.

According to story, Mayor Daley is hugely popular with business leaders because he gives them huge tax breaks and privatizes city operations. Quoth Charles P. Carey, vice-chairman of CME Group (CME), parent of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, "[Daley] takes a CEO's approach to being mayor." So despite an inability to stay within a budget (cough, Millennium Park), scandals at every level of the administration, a school system that graduates only 52 percent of its students, and his penchant for "demagoguery," "Daley can count on business support because he's good at finding common ground with corporate leaders."

Other choice lines from the story:

On O'Hare expansion: "The plan infuriates airport neighbors but is a winner with executives keen to make Chicago a global hub. "

On big business backing his re-election campaign last year: "The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) contributed $107,000, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) $101,000, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) $25,000 — plus personal contributions by executives."

On philosophies of government: "With such pro-business policies, executives say, Daley would likely be a Republican anywhere else."

For the softer side of the mayor, BWC put together this slideshow (makes noise).