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Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
2:30pm
Wed Aug 4, 2010

Do We Own The Meters Or Not?

So which is it, Mayor Daley?

For months, officials in the Daley administration have insisted publicly that Chicago still owns the street parking system it hastily handed over to Chicago Parking Meters LLC in 2008. They claim the deal just allows the private company to operate the meters for 75 years. Behind closed doors, they aren't as convinced. Mick Dumke, now with the Chicago News Cooperative, makes a great catch this afternoon. Looking through a recent court filing connected to a lawsuit introduced by the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization last year, he finds that city lawyers openly acknowledge they no longer own the infrastructure. "The fact that the Concessionaire now owns the parking meters and receives the meter fees does not eliminate the public benefits,” they write in a dismissal motion. (Emphasis added)

Daley might have another lawsuit to deal with, as well. David Ormsby reports that a Chicago-based class action attorney might file suit regarding complaints about inaccurate meters. This is a campaign issue that isn't going to disappear before February.

Quick Hit
by Aricka Flowers
3:04pm
Tue Aug 3, 2010

Weis' Weak Murder Defense

With stories of shootings splashed across metro newspapers daily, Chicago's Police Superintendent Jody Weis used a news briefing yesterday to push back against the impression that Chicago's streets are growing increasingly violent. Using graphs and stats, Chicago's top cop argued that overall crime is down and that the homicide rate is holding steady this year after having dipped considerably over the last 20 years.

But late last month, the Chicago Police Department released crime data for June showing that there was an increase in homicides during the first six months of 2010 as compared to the same period last year. In a related press release, Weis himself said homicides were up by more than 5 percent between the two years. Popular police blogger Second City Cop, for one, is leery of Weis' attempt to quell fears of escalating violence.

Earlier today, Weis joined Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Mayor Richard Daley as they announced plans to deploy more officers to high-crime areas. Hopefully, the new initiative will be effective in reducing Chicago's violent crime rate, which is still three times that of New York City.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
9:32am
Mon Aug 2, 2010

Daley And The TIF Surplus

Facing a $654 million budget deficit, Chicago budget director Eugene Munin said Friday that the Daley administration would "have a discussion" about redirecting some tax increment financing (TIF) dollars to plug the city's hole. Indeed, aldermen told the Sun-Times' Marc Brown that city officials have already "started seriously exploring how it might tap into the funds." It seems that conversation, unfortunately, is going to be one-sided.  Asked about potential budget fixes on Saturday, Mayor Daley told the press that he has little interest in tapping into his tightly-controlled TIF slush fund to provide fiscal relief.

Daley's public rationale is that by returning "surplus" TIF funds to local taxing bodies, the city would only net about $140 million to cover operations. The rest would be tossed back into the accounts of local taxing bodies (such as the Chicago Public Schools or Chicago Park District) whose budgets rely on local property taxes. But it's important to remember that a surplus exists because the city is siphoning off more tax revenue than it can spend each year on public improvement projects. Plus, declaring a "surplus" isn't the only TIF option available to the city. (We ran through a few additional possibilities here.) If Daley and aldermen get creative, reining in the TIF system could provide just the shot in the arm Chicago's government needs.

Quick Hit
by Josh Kalven
1:30pm
Fri Jul 30, 2010

"We're Going To Have That Discussion"

From Greg Hinz's post on Mayor Daley's preliminary FY 2011 budget for the City of Chicago:

[Daley budget director Eugene] Munin did put another of Mr. Daley's sacred cows -- TIFs -- definitely on the table.

Asked if the city will consider declaring up to $700 million in TIF reserves "surplus" and available for alternate use, Mr. Munin replied, "We're going to have that discussion."

Well, it's about time they discussed the issue.  Learn about some other approaches to reining in Daley's tax increment financing (TIF) network here.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:01pm
Fri Jul 30, 2010
1 comment

Parking Meter Regrets

Dan Mihalopoulos and Mick Dumke's latest parking meter story for the Chicago News Cooperative shouldn't surprise anyone that's been following the saga over the city's privatization scheme for the past 18 months. While drivers are angry that Chicago Parking Meters LLC has raised rates 218 percent since the deal went through, financial documents show that the revenues the company is taking in from the higher rates "more than offset the slight decline in meter use."

This reinforces the argument made last year by privatization opponent Ald. Rey Colon (35th Ward), who said the city council should have "just bit the bullet" and raised the low meter rates on its own. Instead, the Daley administration sold them off at an intense discount to a politically-connected firm, forfeiting future revenue and the opportunity to use the meters as a transit tool. Oh, and all the money the city took in from the deal? Almost 90 percent of it is gone.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
11:16am
Fri Jul 30, 2010
1 comment

Dowell And Daley Take On The Banks

Housing

Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell's new vacant property ordinance is garnering interest from officials on the City Hall's fifth floor. Here's what that might mean for both the bill's prospects and the 2011 mayoral election.