The city scored a $1.15 billion deal to privatize its parking meters but it comes at a price for the lowly Chicago driver.
Under a deal announced by the city Tuesday, drivers in Chicago will pay $6.50 an hour to park at a downtown parking meter in 2013 -- up from $3 now. And parking in shopping areas outside the Loop will go from $1 to $4 an hour.
This deal brings the city desperately needed cash and, arguably, brings city parking rates into the 21st century. The city says 70 percent of rates haven't changed in 20 years.
You can argue this is good for the environment -- Chicagoans are more likely to take the train or the bus if parking isn't a steal. It's also potentially good for reducing congestion. But if our public transit system doesn't improve, many people will just pay more to park.
Where do you come down on parking meter privatization:
Is it a rip-off or a wise move for the city and the environment?
This blog brought to you by the Sun-Times editorial board (click on names to read bios):
You would have to be a total idiot to still be living in Chicago.
You continue to accept an unreasonably high cost of living due to the taxes necessitated by the city and county Democrats' high spending policies, cronyism, and incompetence.
The modern day Al Capones of Chicago are wearing suits and ties and they work in City Hall! A buck an hour to park a car is highway robbery. I'll just park my car further away from the meters and walk or bike the rest of the way in. Hey....how about those $40 parking spots on baseball days at Wrigley Field? Cubs' fans have no limit to getting crapped on. $30 to park for a Bears' game? Wow....the fans have to be complete idiots to see those second rate Bears and then have to fork over $30 for a crummy parking spot. The business community will surely suffer when no one shows up to shop near the rip-off meters. Soon the city will start harrassing people on bikes. Require that they have licenses, insurance, helmets etc. Al Capone no longer carries a gun. He works in City Hall as the aldermen, mayor and the back room lobbyists. It's time to move out of Chicago. Canada here I come.
Good to see the ex-Chicagoan gone. Let him live with the red-state yahoos, discussing creationism and guns.
I currently live in Chicago but only because I have to, as a city of chicago employee. It is becoming more and more clear the the Mayor doesn't want the common man or the poor in his city by making it so they cannot afford to be here. i wish I could move but again, i am required to live here. I LOVE Chicago, but it almost isn't worth it to live here anymore.
And I say blame the management and the Daley administration for the city problems, not all of the workers.
But eother way, as it is going now, you have to be rich to enjoy living here. And your average resident isn't. Do your homework and look at what's going on behind the scenes, Block 37, Millenium Park, etc... It's 99% management to blame.
obviously this is an environmental issue. that's why the city did this. obviously.
It appears that Willy Maize is a city worker.
Only city workers or politicians' relatives are happy.
Notice how Daley never cuts programs, just raises taxes and fees.
Also notice that you will never see an accounting of all of the TIF money that disappears annually.
Enjoy your city, Willy, while it lasts.
The other poster hit the nail on the head. Daley and the Pritzkers and all the other richie rich want the "CITY" to be for the rich only. First he got rid of most of the projects by pushing the welfare queens into the nearby suburbs, thus increasing the crime rates in Berwyn and Cicero, then he gets rid of Meigs Field, then he sells the Skyway, then he sells the parking meters. what next, richie? What's left to sell?
I am new to the Chicago area by 4 years. I love the city and the people I meet. It is surprising how taxes and the cost to live in the city goes up constantly. Chicago is a clean and beautiful city and the Mayor wants to bring more people and businesses to the city, but he needs to think about the people who have live here their whole life. There is always a balance.
The Mayor has been an embarrassment to the city and Chicagoans. I'm a single parent and I like others are being priced out of ours homes with Mayor ripping us off everyday. I'm sorry to say that I voted for him. Never again. Let's all make this his last time in office.
Another ripoff of the citizens by Mayor Daley. When will the people of this city wake up and vote him OUT of office. And fire all of the aldermen in the meantime. They are totally useless. As citizens of this city, why should we have to pay to park at all? One day soon, Daley will figure out a way to make us pay for the air we breathe in this city. Remember you read it here.
I'm not sure the city council or mayor understand what the full impact of this "deal with the devil" will be economically for Chicago.
With street parking costs rising so dramatically, it makes it easier for private parking garages to charge more, since the low cost competitor just raised it's pricing.
With ALL parking rates, private and public, going up, a lot less people are going to be willing to absorb these extra costs to come to Chicago and shop, enjoy a meal, sight see or whatever. When you consider the sales tax is 10.25% and the economy faltering badly, this parking meter deal is going to hurt businesses in a very big way.
Less business and spending means lower tax revenue and less money for future city budgets.
I think economists will make Chicago a case study in what NOT to do to promote growth in a metropolitan area.
The Parking Ticket Geek
www.theexpiredmeter.com
There has to be another way to find this money.
75 years is a long time, we'll be stuck with this vulture of a company.
Daley and Stroger need to go.
They and their cronies are making it miserable to live in this great city if you aren't rich.
What next Dick? Privatize emergency services? Imagine how much a homeowner would be willing to pay to have professionals come out and save the house from a devasating fire? Could always privatize police services. All this will keep the riff raff (insert your favorite race to bash here) out of Chicago and bring back the ones who can afford to live here. Think public housing and his glorious plan.
Why do you think someone would be willing to pay $1.2B? Did the investors predict a shortfall but felt it imperative to dole out some charity to Chicago? But they react rather than plan for a steady financial stream. I don't mind if I had to start paying for some higher rates, but I attest some private corporation walking away with the funds only to squander it on some CEO's private elaborate lifestyle and his well endowed stockholder friends. Meanwhile, the sucker collecting the parking fees will get the brunt of the anger while slaving away at minimum wage and no benefits. Here's to the city that works or jerks its citizens.
It is sad to see the cost of everything rising all around you and your income doesn't increase. It's about the wealthy being able to survive these days. I live next door to Chicago and although we may not pay the high parking cost or 1% more in sales tax, my property tax is extremely high. Bottom line, no matter where you live, you are going to get screwed somehow! It's all about the wealthy and most fortunate ones.
None of this matters, when the election come around again, most of the alderman will win again, the few that lose will have someone appeal to the poor and uneducated (Jesse Jackson's wife for examnple) claiming to be different than the other aldermen. It is a poor joke on most of us. I got fooled as well. It is a shame that we have politicians in place who continue to accept that further chipping away at our checks will make us happy. Income tax, sales tax, parking fees, license fees, tickets, the list goes on. It is truly sickening.
IN THIS DAY AND AGE WHEN IT COMES TO PARKING IN THE BIG CITY, IT LITERALLY DIES COME AT THE EXPENSE OF AN ARM OR A LEG!! ITS OUTRAGEOUS HOW THE CITY CAN CAPITALIZE ON THE PARKING METER SYSTEM BY PRIVITIZING TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, IN ORDER TO COMPENSATE FOR THE CITY BUDGET,
IN A TIME IF ECONOMIC CRISIS, NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO PUT AN OVERWHELMING DOLLAR AMOUNT ON WHAT IS CLEARLY A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME IN YOUR BELOVED CITY OF CHICAGO
99 year leases = SOLD! Chicago's childrens' futures have been mortgaged by Daley Capone-
Chicago Skyway
Midway Airport
ALL Downtown parking Garages
Parking Meters
Dem Guv Blago wants to sell-
Tollways
Lotteries
Cook County has the highest sales tax in USA
Real Estate taxes in Cook County went up while they went down in msot other states because NOTHING is selling.
Todd Stroeger wants to sell 3/4 BILLION in bonds becuase his budget has such a deficit!
WHo cares? None of these Dem politicians can ever lose an election because the Machien has rigged EVERYTHING and now owns The White House with Daley's protege soon to take office.
Soo nthe whole USA will be hopelessly bankrupt jsut like Illinois!
Ever notice how politicians always pass bills that drive up costs for the average citizen?
Do you also notice how these costs never affect the politicians directly?
For instance -- how often do aldermen have to park at meters?
Finally some people who get what the problem is here in Chicago. "Current Chicagoan" struck the nail on the head with his comments. It is all management, and that management is corrupt to the core!
I talk to friends and family that live in the suburbs and they all go on and on about how great a mayor Daley has been because the City is so beautiful and well run. What a load. They don't live here, so they have no idea how untrue that is. Anyone who was mayor during the high-flying late 90s and early 00s could have made huge improvements to the City with the amount of money that was flowing into City coffers at the time. That was before Daley and baby Stroger started raising every fee and tax they could get their hands on. And if that money hadn't been thrown away on corruption, and kept for a rainy day, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in now. I would be shocked if less then $10 billion of the City's money was flushed down the toilet in waste and corruption that has made Daley's friends and family incredibly rich (like his father, he doesn't take much for himself in order to keep up appearances). Imagine if that money had been stashed away.
I have no idea where the voters in this City have been for the last ten years. I really hope this next time around they retire Da' Mayor.
Oh, forgot to mention, the tax rate on parking at parking lots will be also going up shortly! Great City.
Hey Chicagoans, would you like a little cheese with your Whine? Come to Philly or New York and park on the street and see what it will cost you (if you can even find a space). Seriously, we haven't seen a quarter for an hour of parking since the 1970's!
Hey Chicagoans, would you like a little cheese with your Whine? Come to Philly or New York and park on the street and see what it will cost you (if you can even find a space). Seriously, we haven't seen a quarter for an hour of parking since the 1970's!
Well boo hoo. All you social reform losers voted for Omaha or whatever his name is, now that you've got your cake, you can eat it too.
Enjoy what your mayor and gov't will do for you suckers.
Hey Chicagoans & double-punch Philly Phil, Park Ridge is OK!
One of the companies involved in this purchase is a division of the Morgan Stanley, on of the banks that has received federal bailout money. Morgan Stanley is 10% owned by a Chinese Bank. The net effect- our tax dollars have helped to keep a bank in business that then buys the right to charge us more to park in our own city. And some of the profits not only go out of the city but out of the country.
Think about that next time you park at a meter- part of the increased fees will be leaving the city , the state of Illinois and the USA and going to a Chinese bank.
i wonder what the Chinese bank will use the profits for- building an car maker to compete with the Big 3 , if they are still around.
the words - SELL OUT , are not strong enough.
Fortunately I moved out of Chicago 16 years ago and now only have to park about twice a month. I pity those who have to find space every day where there is none and now will pay 24 hours a day to park; this is certainly another way to drive people and business out of the city which is becoming unbearably expensive to be in. Those of us who refuse to subject ourselves to the criminal transit authority (CTA) will simply drive elsewhere to park and shop. Next the mayor and his elves may decide to privatize all the public toilets, which is where this parking meter plan belongs! Then they can charge the suburbanites a user fee, the "fee 2 P"; in 75 years there probably won't be anyone left in the city! Happy New Year Chicago!
I have the answer to Chicago's financial woes. Tithing. Yes, tithe every citizen of Chicago. Less than the 10% the church tithes, more like 5%. C'mon it's a bargain. Daley can ram it through the **ity Council, the Balderdashmen and Balderdashwomen can feign outrage and then pass it quickly. Then Stroger can impose a 2% tithe to all of Crook County, bringing Chicagoans up to a 7% tithe. Still a bargain compared to the Church.
I sure hope they equip the meters with those slots for dollar bills, most people don't carry a roll of quarters around on a regular basis; glad I don't have to park in Chicago everyday and don't have to pay the sales tax either, on my drinks! well indirectly...this will just reduce business unless you have a parking lot like 7-11; keep up the good work guys, in 75 years no one will be left in the city to worry about, then the CTA can park their buses and pay the meter fees.
Hey Philadelphia Phil:
First you call us whiners, then whine that you haven't seen quarter-an-hour meters since the 70s. Pot to Kettle: "Black!"
Just because you people pay exorbitant parking costs doesn't mean we should be stupid enough to quietly follow your lead. Come spend some time in the outer neighborhoods in Chicago some day, where even at 25 cents an hour half the meters are empty. In a lot of outer neighborhoods, there are meters where there shouldn't be any at all because the demand for parking doesn't justify them, much less $1/hr for them. But they're there anyway to generate revenue -- not from the meters, but from parking tickets.
And now even more people are going to get parking tickets as they scoff at paying even higher parking prices in areas where parking should be free. Maybe in Philadelphia people like to bend over and quietly take it, but that's not an attribute we in Chicago are in any hurry to mimic. Now go back to whining about how you haven't seen quarter-an-hour parking since the 70s and leave Chicago issues to Chicagoans.
We pay the highest sales tax in the United States, and Daley has got the nerve to say that he will cut my city services with his "city layoffs". Whats this guys problem? Thanks Daley!!.. Your lack of management is going to cost me longer waits to get my steets plowed, less garbage pick-ups, and longer wait to repair street light outages. I hope Chicagoans really OPEN their eyes and smell the coffee..
Blago, Daley and other liberals are now selling things to meet current budgets. What happens after they are indicted and jailed or voted out of office (the former being far more likely than the latter)? That's just not for them to worry about, but I guarantee you it will involve tax increases the like sof which you ain't never seen. Old people who have lived in a house for 40 or 50 years having to sell it and move to pay their tax bills? It's for the greater good, you see, and grandma ain't gonna be around that much longer, so she should move out of the way and let someone move there who can pay the taxes.
Hey, I got an idea!! Why not SELL the mayor's office instead of holding elections! Based on the kind of swag that Dick Daley gets (including his 24/7 paid bodyguards while everyone else in Chicago is not allowed to defend themselves with a gun and the murders keep piling up) we should be able to get hundred of millions of dollars for that office on the open market!
Whatever happened to the billion dollars Daley got for the Skyway?
Also, look at all the other little things going on in the background that most people who praise the mayor for donot know about, or choose to ignore. A lot of it can be found here at Suntimes.com.
For example, Block 37. Do you all know how much $$$ that is costing the city? How the mayor just made plans to give an extra 12 Million dollars to a Hotel on Block 37. A Hotel. Not a city project or to help ease the budget peoblems, but to a Hotel. read the article here at Suntimes.com
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1263784,CST-FIN-hotel06.article
And again, that is just one article I found on the net/in the papers.
Did you know that only a select few workers still get regular overtime even though no one is supposed to get any? Guess what the common link is between the ones getting it is. They are all clout heavy. You want to blame the workers but what about management???? And Mr Daly???
I have to agree that this is a HUGE mistake for the city. With the highest sales tax in the entire country and $6.50/hr parking (with even more scheduled increases to come) who will be able to afford to come to Chicago for a night out on the town? I feel sorry for local business owners because they are the ones who will bear the brunt of the effect. I agree with the statement above that this will be a lesson in economics of what NOT to do. At some point you would think that the city would recognize that they cannot keep raising taxes to balance the city budget. At some point spending has to be cut. They should start by cancelling all of the spending thats directly a result of the Mayor's hidden agenda. Who knows how much has been spent on O'Hare expansion and is it really necessary? Well the FAA and the 3 largest carriers do not think so. How much has been spent on acquiring land and drawing up plans for the 2012 Olympics? And I doubt Chicago will even host the event. And the glamour of the event is clearly not worth the price tag. The city of Chicago is taking in an unprecedented amount of money and its budget is due for an audit. Where is all the money going? If you haven't noticed the important programs/spending have not seen any increase in funding. Chicago schools continue to deteriorate along with the city's mass transit, infrastructure...etc. Also spending in important places like Police, garbage and snow removal have been cut. The FBI should be paying more attention to Daley's dealings. Also for many people mass transit is not an option. What if you are not close to a station, where do you park to get on the train, also the system is in a state of decay and is pathetic when compared to other mass transit systems worlwide. Not only is it a further example of Daley's cronyism (previous examples including the sale of Meigs field, the Skyway, Midway Airport, O'Hare expansion...)but it also shows that the alderman are spineless cowards when it comes to standing up for the rights of local residents.
City workers are overpaid start at the top and cut salaries and the city will have enough money to balance the budget without selling all the city services.
This is what comes of voting the party line for years and years. It just encourages the politicians from that party to screw their constituants. It is politically irresponsible to vote straight ticket because they are all crooks. No one goes into politics anymore to make the country better, they just want to line their pockets, earn a great pension and pass the positions on to their relatives, whom they also let feed at the trough. They are all egotistical do-nothings who re-emerge every four years and sell the same line of bull as the prior four years and most of the great unwashed and uneducated put them right back it to do nothing all over again. WAKE UP, PEOPLE.
the only saving grace in this ripoff is that perhaps the privateers will crack down on the construction workers who take up spaces all day in the loop by using handicapped placards. Take a look on Wells between Jackson & Van Buren some day ... *every single* spot is taken by a car w/ a placard. Nobody but construction/maintenance workers would get downtown early enough to score those spots every day.
If the new contract is for parking meters rather than those parking boxes with printed receipts, I'm all for it.
Sometimes you can get someone's leftover time if they leave a space early. Maybe save a couple quarters. Not possible with those receipts. The pre-paid time drives away with the car and the next person pays for the same space again.
Also it's harder to tell where the legal parking is when the box is down the block.
The only thing that bugs me is that there will be NO parking holidays...you'll pay the meter every Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Independence Day, etc.
The folks who say that Daley and his cohorts in City Hall and on the Cook County Board are here to stay thanks to The Democratic Machine are only half-right. The other half is the fact that the electorate allows this. There is an old saying: You get the government you deserve. Chicagoans, so very liberal, so deep into the Democratic party, have kept these leeches in power since 1931. For a long time this was alright--Richard J. Daley, for example, was a great mayor and kept the city working properly--but his son, Ritchie, the current mayor, has done the opposite and has milked the citizens for the privilege, driving out businesses and dampening down prosperity; but because he is a democrat and a Daley, the foolish Chicago electorate keeps voting him in.
Maybe when the streets don't get ploughed because Daley cut the budget there and the Chicago liberal elite can't get their Starbucks we will see some change.
Maybe...but don't hold your breath.
I agree with MIKE. Fire all the lazy workers, reduce salaries and balance the budget. Dont sell anything.
Thanks mayor D, just what we need in a flagging economy is for the city to take more out of our pockets($6+.00) for parking.
I work twelve and a half (121/2) hrs.per shift which works out to $70 plus dollars per day just for parking.
Since it's going to be so difficult parking in the city, guess I'll move to the 'burbs....
What were you thinking Ritchie??????
Hey Chicagoans! Stop whining! Daley needs your dough. How else is he going to keep passing out the big fat contracts to his connected crony contractors like the ones who will be paid to build the no doubt absolutely essential (and totally illegal) "childrens museum" in Grant Park? Look, you keep voting for the City Hall Clown Show. Then you complain that the Circus is charging too much. Are you crazy?
Daley is allowed to raise fee's fine's taxes and sell anything he wants.The alderman do not represent their wards, they only represent their interest. The current alderman and women rubber stamp every thing Daley presents, he then tells them to like it. This is not new news, this happens everyday. If you think we have a budget shorttfall in 2008 wait till mid 2009. I work for the city as do many of my friends. We see first hand the waste of money long before the public or media. But your aldermen and women vote on most of these issues in favor of the mayor. This type of government is not substainable. The downtown bussiness district is the first to be affected. In the simplest way think about this. Would it not be better if people had a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend, everyday, instead of paying parking meters. Higher fees, fines, and selling government revenue generating entity's is not the answer.
FOR YEARS THEY HAVE BEEN LYING TO YOU AND YOU ALL CONTINUE TO VOTE FOR THESE CRIMINALS. IT DOESNT COST 4 MILLION TO REMOVE GRAFFITTI. IT IS ANOTHER WAY FOR THEM TO HAVE ACCESS TO MONEY. NOW YOU ALL ARE CRYING ABOUT IT WHEN ALL ALONG YOU WERE BEING ROB AND YOU DIDNT EVEN KNOW IT. NOW YOU ALL MADE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL.
DALEY CAPONE IS RUNNING THE WHOLE STATE.
I have to ask, will the city still be providing the resources to police the meters and issue tickets? Do the city's coffers get enriched by the tickets or are they considered profits for the company? Are our tax dollars being wasted patrolling meters that we will see absolutely no revenue for during our lifetimes? Why couldn't the city raise the rates themselves to increase revenue? With the abolishment of free Sunday parking, will the city see a substantial increase in drunk driving instances now that people will be less inclined to leave their cars parked and take a cab home? What is the net loss of income from the amount of income received from the sale to the amount the private corporation will receive in benefits? How quickly will this loss be realized?
Is it a coincidence that the rash of privatization of public assets is occurring in what is likely Daley's last term in office and public accountability is no longer an issue (not that it was ever that big of an issue to begin with)?
Does the city care to answer these questions instead of forcing boondoggles like the meter plan down its citizens throats?
Prediction:
Solvency through 2012, major budget crises through 2020, Detroit 2021
I'm not sure a team of crack teenage sim city enthusiasts couldn't run this city better.
TIME TO TAKE DALEY TO THE COURTS TOO!!! CORUPT POLITICS BASES FOR ALL TAXES IN CHICAGO. NONE OF THE CITY ELECT OFFICIAL SPEAK AGAINST MAYOR DALEY IF NOT NOTICED ALREADY!!! NEITHER NEWS REPORTS ON CONS OF ANY BIASED LAWS. I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY HEAVY CRITISM NOR COVERAGE OF WHERE THE SPEED CAMERA'S ARE LOCATED, MOSTLY IN LOW INCOME LOCALITIES. NOR DOES ANYONE QUESTION WHY ALL THE CITY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS NEVER FINISH AND ALL START AT THE SAME TIME. AS FOR BRINGING IN MONEY FOR THE CITY, WHY NOT LOWER ALDERMAN PAY WHICH IS ALMOST 200,000$. THATS HALF THE SALARY OF PRESIDENT!! TIME FOR CHANGE!!!!
In light of the current blago circus ... is daley next? or crook county leadership (stroger) next ? lets hope so and get a fresh UNCORRUPT start ...
I have to comment amongst all the corruption around the whole state. Starting with chicago, if the people can see it what taking the FEDS so long. I wonder if the city no longer owns the parking meters can they still give us tickets. That would be double-dipping since the city so called leased them to a company. why can't they write the tickets, where is their profit unless we sold them the meters. And by the way the only free parking by 2013 will be in front of your house.
I have to comment amongst all the corruption around the whole state. Starting with chicago, if the people can see it what taking the FEDS so long. I wonder if the city no longer owns the parking meters can they still give us tickets. That would be double-dipping since the city so called leased them to a company. why can't they write the tickets, where is their profit unless we sold them the meters. And by the way the only free parking by 2013 will be in front of your house.
Just pay the fee or get the ticket ot another option park in a parking lot , very simple in my books.
Daniel ..... Toronto
Chicago is losing revenue faster than it can create new revenue streams. A few examples, I dont advocate smoking, but Chicago taxes places a pack of cigerettes from $3,00 to over $ 7.00. Im sure most smokers go to the burbs to save money. Now, the non-smokers get to take up the slack. Lost revenue. Same goes for the Alcohol tax. All lost revenue. The city is going to 2 tickets...then the boot. My previous home was in Hyde Park, right on the Lake. Practically all my income and taxes were spent and paid in Chicago and Hyde Park. Now, Im in the West burbs. Wont ever go back. The city's residents are getting hammered, from all sides. Once the exodus begins, nothing city hall does will be able to stop it. The city's plight will grow worse, in time. Crime, lopsided tax rates make even a day trip shopping in Chicago to costly. No more meter holidays. Its all good. Fits a very familiar pattern.
this is nothing but a rip-off like every other expense in chicago. selling city assets to bottom feeders and then still raising taxes while buying 86 million dollar buildings for the "maybe" olympics here in 2016 should be an impeachable offense in itself. i moved from chicago a while ago and since then have stopped shopping in chicago and cook county all together. the border counties are getting the tax windfall that chicago has given up by pricing itself out of the picture with it's outrageous sales taxes. the parking ticket hearings are nothing but a kangroo court. chicago was a great city but our politicians are making it a nightmare to live here.
Does anyone know if the city still retains the right to ticket for expired parking meters or if the private company it sold them to is responsible for that?