3 ms·

Very well said. What a shit show. I wonder if there was corruption involved. "Sell this thing for me on the cheap and we'll hire you in 5 years."

boomskats 4y ago
That's not corruption. That's 'lobbying'.
- garyfirestorm 4y ago
  That's not lobbying. That's 'business' /s
evol262 4y ago
Count backwards. Sixty-one years left on a 75 year lease. It was in the middle of the 2008-2010 crash, and the city was facing massive budget shortfalls. They also leased Midway: https://www.reuters.com/article/chicago-parkingmeters/chicago-leases-parking-meters-for-1-16-billion-idUSN0227950220081202 https://www.reuters.com/article/chicago-parkingmeters/chicag... This is around the same time that PA tried to lease their turnpike, and cities all over the US were facing a post-boom hangover when projected revenues from permits and property taxes didn't align with budget realities. I'm not defending the decision, but it was far more shortsightedness than corruption.
- themitigating 4y ago
  Either the public doesn't reelect you due to economic conditions probably out of your control or you do this. Democracies often force short sighted thinking because of 1. Frequent elections 2. Situations outside of your control but you are blamed by the public or attacked by the opposition for 3. Voters who may have nostalgia, emotions, and or a bad memory
  - jacobjjacob 4y ago
    People are often trying to implement and shorten term limits. But it amplifies this problem, and it gives lawmakers an incentive to line up their next job in the private sector while in office.
    - jszymborski 4y ago
      I think UK-style recall elections for ridings makes a lot more sense than short term limits.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Kon-Peki 4y ago
  > They also leased Midway That deal fell apart; it was never completed. But Chicago did lease the parking garage underneath Millennium Park to the same parking meter investor group. And that deal went bankrupt with the lease going back to the lender (who set up a new consortium which is also on the verge of bankruptcy). So basically the two parking deals have just now broken even ;) > Amid a legal skirmish with the city over the underground parking garages, the venture is in talks to relinquish them to banking giant Societe Generale S.A., which provided a $403 million loan to finance the 2006 deal, sources said. It's a sign that the investment has lost so much value with little prospect of a turnaround that the venture no longer sees a reason to own it. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130912/CRED03/130919936/investor-group-prepares-to-hand-city-parking-garages-back-to-lender https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130912/CRED03/1309... > Chicago CFO Gene Saffold said the Midway Investment and Development Company, the group that successfully bid on the 99-year airport lease in September, was unable to secure financing, leading to the deal’s demise. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chicago-midway-lease-idUSTRE53J5LS20090420 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chicago-midway-lease-idUS...
ElevenLathe 4y ago
In Chicago, there's always corruption involved.
pessimizer 4y ago
It was done at the end of the reign of someone who had been mayor for 22 years, whose father had been mayor for 21 years. There aren't really any laws against corruption in Illinois unless you get both sides of a clearly stated quid pro quo on tape, and physical proof of the action and the compensation actually having occurred. It's also illegal to tape people unless they consent.
robotnikman 4y ago
It's Chicago, of course there was.
sokoloff 4y ago
> I wonder if there was corruption involved. It clearly said it was in Chicago and involved a Daley.

boomskats 4y ago

That's not corruption. That's 'lobbying'.

garyfirestorm 4y ago
That's not lobbying. That's 'business' /s

evol262 4y ago

Count backwards. Sixty-one years left on a 75 year lease. It was in the middle of the 2008-2010 crash, and the city was facing massive budget shortfalls. They also leased Midway: https://www.reuters.com/article/chicago-parkingmeters/chicago-leases-parking-meters-for-1-16-billion-idUSN0227950220081202 https://www.reuters.com/article/chicago-parkingmeters/chicag... This is around the same time that PA tried to lease their turnpike, and cities all over the US were facing a post-boom hangover when projected revenues from permits and property taxes didn't align with budget realities. I'm not defending the decision, but it was far more shortsightedness than corruption.

themitigating 4y ago
Either the public doesn't reelect you due to economic conditions probably out of your control or you do this. Democracies often force short sighted thinking because of 1. Frequent elections 2. Situations outside of your control but you are blamed by the public or attacked by the opposition for 3. Voters who may have nostalgia, emotions, and or a bad memory
- jacobjjacob 4y ago
  People are often trying to implement and shorten term limits. But it amplifies this problem, and it gives lawmakers an incentive to line up their next job in the private sector while in office.
  - jszymborski 4y ago
    I think UK-style recall elections for ridings makes a lot more sense than short term limits.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Kon-Peki 4y ago
> They also leased Midway That deal fell apart; it was never completed. But Chicago did lease the parking garage underneath Millennium Park to the same parking meter investor group. And that deal went bankrupt with the lease going back to the lender (who set up a new consortium which is also on the verge of bankruptcy). So basically the two parking deals have just now broken even ;) > Amid a legal skirmish with the city over the underground parking garages, the venture is in talks to relinquish them to banking giant Societe Generale S.A., which provided a $403 million loan to finance the 2006 deal, sources said. It's a sign that the investment has lost so much value with little prospect of a turnaround that the venture no longer sees a reason to own it. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130912/CRED03/130919936/investor-group-prepares-to-hand-city-parking-garages-back-to-lender https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130912/CRED03/1309... > Chicago CFO Gene Saffold said the Midway Investment and Development Company, the group that successfully bid on the 99-year airport lease in September, was unable to secure financing, leading to the deal’s demise. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chicago-midway-lease-idUSTRE53J5LS20090420 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chicago-midway-lease-idUS...

ElevenLathe 4y ago

In Chicago, there's always corruption involved.

pessimizer 4y ago

It was done at the end of the reign of someone who had been mayor for 22 years, whose father had been mayor for 21 years. There aren't really any laws against corruption in Illinois unless you get both sides of a clearly stated quid pro quo on tape, and physical proof of the action and the compensation actually having occurred. It's also illegal to tape people unless they consent.

robotnikman 4y ago

It's Chicago, of course there was.

sokoloff 4y ago

> I wonder if there was corruption involved. It clearly said it was in Chicago and involved a Daley.