Good Read: The Reader's Look at the Parking Meter Debacle
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 9, 2009 8:20PM
We've gone on and on and on and on about this parking meter clusterfuck in town, but the Chicago Reader's team of Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke has easily topped us and anyone else by offering the most thorough, comprehensive, (and all-around best) look yet at the entire history of this deal gone wrong.
The origins of the meter debacle actually date back to 2005, when Mayor Daley began selling off public property for up-front cash payments without much scrutiny from the City Council or the public. Then last year, when tax revenues plummeted, the mayor increased the pressure, directing his staff to be “creative” in attacking budget problems. But even as city officials celebrated privatization agreements for Midway Airport and the meters, both worth billions of dollars, they refused to release the most basic information about how they’d been reached—such as which firms had bid, how much they’d offered, and short- or long-term cost-benefit analyses. Both plans were hustled through the City Council in less than a week. As one alderman told the Reader, but not for attribution, during a hearing on Midway: “Somewhere in this deal we’re getting screwed. I just can’t figure out where yet.”
Damn. Head over to The Reader to scope out the entire story - also available in the print edition that came out today.