Morning Shorts
Friday, Feb 6, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray
* Economic analysis shows city’s long term, privatized parking deal gave up future millions for cash now
The complex agreement, the first of its kind in the United States, nets the city a one-time cash payment of nearly $1.2 billion when the deal is closed this month.
But the city could have earned $1.5 billion—in today’s dollars—if it kept the meters and simply raised rates to the same levels it granted the winning bidder, according to H. Woods Bowman, a professor of public service at DePaul University. That’s nearly $300 million more than Chicago Parking Meters, a limited liability corporation formed by Morgan Stanley to operate the meters, will pay upfront, Bowman said.
* Daley reversal: City workers aren’t clock-watchers
* Canadian National Railroad Debate Rages On
For much of the last year, the controversial sale of a rail line that runs through the Chicago region has pitted communities against each other. The debate is all about rail traffic congestion and the price tag that comes with it, a cost cities and suburbs are clamoring to avoid. The deal that finalized Canadian National’s bid to buy the EJ&E line was inked last weekend. But it still faces resistance.
* Chicago’s museums try to ride out bucking economy
* More Wal-Marts may be in Chicago’s future
Citing the need for new investment to boost the sagging local economy, Wal-Mart is preparing a new push for approval of as many as five new stores in Chicago, sources said today.
* Hispanic Community’s Power-Play For City Jobs
Hispanic activists on Thursday demanded a bigger share of city jobs and contracts.
Although they vowed to boycott city-sponsored leadership events, they accepted Mayor Richard M. Daley’s invitation to discuss their grievances face-to-face.
* Horse-drawn carriage firms say business is suffering
They blame Chicago regulations, cold as some companies go out of business
* Pink slips stack up as recession drags on
With employers in no mood to hire, the unemployment rate is expected to jump to 7.5 percent in January from 7.2 percent in December, according to economists’ forecasts. If they are right, that would mark the highest jobless rate in 17 years.
And after suffering heavy job losses last year, the country probably lost another 524,000 jobs month, getting the new year off to a rotten start. Some think the number of jobs reductions in January will be higher - 600,000 or 700,000.
* Danville mayor hopes to maintain services amid job cuts
After announcing Tuesday night that 24 of the city’s total 267 positions will be eliminated beginning Feb. 27, the mayor said challenges are still ahead as police and fire pensions continue to rise along with health insurance premiums and the cost of road-repair materials and utilities.
* Rantoul plant lays off 600 workers
* New mortgage fee matrix real doozy
* Statue commemorating race riot to be unveiled
* Potholes keep digging in
* Potholes set to launch offensive with warmer weather
* Courthouse to be named after retired judge
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin introduced legislation today to name the new federal courthouse in downtown Rockford for retired U.S. District Court Judge Stanley J. Roszkowski.
* Courthouse name a worthy tribute to respected judge
* Cicero Town President runs unopposed — for now
* Assessor: Firings not my fault
Embattled Township Assessor Sharon Eckersall defended herself Monday night against allegations that lawsuits brought against her in firing past deputy assessors have cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
* Cook Co. township candidate filings
* Schock and Pastor Timothy Criss attend Prayer Breakfast
* PJ Star: Burris hasn’t made it easy to get in touch
- Cassandra - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:21 am:
The struggle between African Americans and Hispanics for the lion’s share of political power in Chicago post-Daley is one of the more interesting developing political struggles to watch.
Although I wouldn’t put it past Daley to try to
get one of the kids onto the mayoral track as his
reign winds down post Olympics.
- Fed Up State Employee - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:22 am:
Typical “short term” government thinking on the privatized parking bonanza. Bonus is the city doesn’t have to take the heat for the increased fees. They can just blame the private company.
- Leroy - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:26 am:
A bit off topic…
How come future governor Lisa ‘Pile On’ Madigan isn’t piling on this Cash4Gold scam? Media outlets all over are screaming about how it is bilking unsuspecting people out of their gold. The Florida Attorney General has already started their investigation.
This kind of stuff is right up her alley, and usually good for one or two press releases.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:28 am:
With Quinn removing Blagojevich signs, I recommend he mandate that government buildings can be named after noted citizens after they have died.
This idea that living people can name government buildings after themselves smacks more of royalty and dictatorships, than of democracies.
It is time for this practice to end!
- lake county democrat - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:32 am:
I would have added the story on Mayor Daley refusing to release the city’s list of proposed stimulus projects (and contemptuous response to reporters requesting it).
- Concerned Observer - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:34 am:
VanMan — it’s a proportion thing. I didn’t have a problem with them naming the federal building in Carbondale after Paul Simon while he was still alive. Rod and Emil ain’t Paul.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:37 am:
Parking Meters
So, that means Mayor Daley and his flock of sheep handed Morgan Stanley a $1.5 BILLION windfall, no-bid contract.
Just great.
Is it too late to repeal this contract?
- One of the 35 - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:39 am:
Unfortunately, the Danville story will be repeated in many Illinois municipalities in the coming months. The reduction in local revenues will force many communities to reduce their work force.
- Skeeter - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:47 am:
The horse thing is good news.
The streets smelled bad because of them, and they often screwed up traffic. Too often they did not follow the rules on where they were allowed to be.
I won’t miss getting stuck behind a carriage going down Ontario at rush hour.
- ChampaignDweller - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:49 am:
Champaign County is talking about furloughs for employees rather than layoffs, and I suspect that many of the other local government bodies will have to follow suit. We’ve already seen a number of locally-owned businesses shut their doors, not to mention the chains such as Circuit City.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 10:02 am:
it’s a proportion thing
No, it is a matter of principle. We don’t name public buildings after living people, regardless of merit. We are a democracy. If citizens wish to name a building after one of their best, there should be a requirement that the citizen honored be dead. We have these requirements regarding coinage and stamps, and take it even further. Citizens honored in this manner have to had been dead for a specific number of years before being nominated. The only exceptions that were made on this was for the Kennedy half-dollar and the Roosevelt dime.
This also removes the possibility of naming a public facility as a means of insult. In November, voters in San Francisco were asked if they wished to name a sewage plant after our 43rd president. We shouldn’t be naming public places after living people. History should determine this honor.
We have a state park named after Jim Edgar. We have a huge state building named after Jim Thompson. We have the FBI building in DC named after J. Edgar Hoover, before history exposed him. There are dozens of public places and things named after Senator Robert Byrd, the ex-Klansman who pork-barrelled these self-named projects in West Virginia with our money for decades.
Governor Quinn should lead by example. He should take a stand against this practice in Illinois, regarding state buildings, parks and other places and things. We have plenty of Iraq and Afghanistan war dead worthier of this honor.
Political people are supposed to be public servants, not legacy builders. Allowing this practice to continue doesn’t address the rightful place politicians should hold in our state.
We must end what we see as a pattern of politicians gathering pork for their districts and expecting their names to be screwed into the projects’ facade later on. This taxpayer-financed self-worship should end now.
Let the cemetaries be filled with Taj Rolandos, instead of allowing our public building to become their Tajs.
Governor Quinn is perfect for this task, isn’t he?
- Mike Murray - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 10:05 am:
The AP story on the January job loses should give legislators, especially Senators about to vote on the stimulus bill, great pause. Since November, the U.S. lost over 1.5 million jobs and this quarter is predicted to be the worst of the recession. If job losses continue to outpace their expectations, we could easily be looking at double digit unemployment by the end of summer. Pretty scary.
- wordslinger - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 10:16 am:
Daley’s hilarious and pathetic. Watch the video of his previous remarks; he was dripping contempt for city workers. Now he says he didn’t say it.
He’s pretty guarded in his remarks, but every once in a while he reveals himself. This reminds me of the time he was complaining on camera about public housing residents not paying their water bills on time, and said they should skip buying “a pack of cigarettes and a six pack” every once in a while.
He didn’t say that, either, as it turned out.
You see, the parking meter deal demonstrates the superiority of the private sector. Morgan Stanley, which will get the $300 million windfall, employs the mayor’s nephew, Bill Daley Jr. They got the parking garages deal shortly after hiring the young man, as well.
Junior doesn’t watch the clock at work. He just admires the pretty rain he makes.
- earnest - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 10:25 am:
I guess they never took that class in html formatting over at the Daily Herald. That’s the ugliest candidate list I’ve seen since someone invented italics.
- Ken in Aurora - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 10:27 am:
Rick Lawrence is being disingenuous in the BEZ piece:
“LAWRENCE: We do have a hospital on Ogden Avenue. We have fire equipment on one side. You also have Fox Valley Mall on the other side of the tracks, our police station on this side of the tracks. It will impact a lot of fire safety. It will impact our police department. It also cuts off access to hospitals to certain people.”
Bull. FVM is located on two different E-W roads that are each unaffected by anything happening on the J due to existing bridges - New York St. and McCoy Dr. Ambulance and other emergency crews rarely use Ogden as it is due to the potential for blockage and the easy availability of McCoy Dr. 3000′ north of Ogden at the tracks.
Lawrence has lost a lot of credibility in my eyes with this ridiculous stance. I don’t live in his ward, but you can bet I’ll remember this the next time he runs for a city-wide office. Not that Tom is any better…
- Captain Flume - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 10:53 am:
If there are to be names on public buildings, how about a random drawing that picks the name of an ordinary taxpayers as a true recognition of who really helped pay for the structures in the first place? Perhaps that is too egalitarian. God forbid we don’t damage the philo-skinned egos of our leaders.
- Just Curious Again - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 10:59 am:
Chicago makes #3 on Forbes’s “America’s Most Miserable Cities”, beating out such stalwarts as Cleveland, Detroit, and Flint:
http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/06/most-miserable-cities-business-washington_0206_miserable_cities.html?partner=yahootix
- cermak_rd - Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 11:57 am:
How about the People’s whatever it is? As in, the People’s Office Building? It is, after all, our office building.