Mayor Daley Weighs in on Willis Tower

By Kevin Robinson in News on Jul 17, 2009 2:20PM

Not one to miss an opportunity to pander to publicity, Mayor Daley had some choice words for the media at the naming ceremony for the newly-minted Willis Tower. Asked if he would be calling the iconic skyscraper 'Big Willie', Daley told the press "'Big Willie', Willis Tower, yeah. You know why? Because they stepped up to the plate." The mayor used the comments as a chance to trumpet his glorius transformations in how Chicago works. "There has to be change in government and business," the mayor said. "And you have to realize that change is good."

Noting that "you have to make a decision between sentimentality and the reality of what puts food on your table...there's no food on the table called 'tradition steak,'" Willis chairman and CEO Joseph Plumeri mentioned the 500 plus jobs that Willis would bring to the city. "Willis is not only going to have its name on the side of the building but it's going to have an impact on the society and community of Chicago," he said, extending an olive branch of understanding to Chicagoans who have seen their city parceled out piecemeal to the highest bidder.

In citing the job creation that Willis brings along with the name name change, he made no mention of the millions of tax dollars that were spent remodeling the three floors the London-based firm will occupy. Willis asked Chicago for $3.8 million in tax-increment financing, which it received. Willis Group Holdings, which is a global insurance broker, has yet to release any information detailing how many city residents they employ at their Sears Tower location, or any financial forecasting to indicate when the city will recoup the nearly $4 million dollars in lost tax dollars.