Chicago’s disastrous parking meter deal is a cautionary tale for cities trying to lure Amazon

It’s become a spring pastime of sorts in Chicago, the annual audit of perhaps the worst privatization deal in U.S. history, and this year’s findings are just as bad as they’ve always been.

The city’s parking meter system raked in $134.2 million in 2017, none of which found its way to residents. You see, the 36,000 meters were leased to private investors in a hasty and secretive 2008 deal pushed by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, so the system’s revenue each year goes to the likes of Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley and Abu Dhabi’s state-owned investment arm, and will do so for the next 65 years.

Adding insult to injury, the investors are on pace to recoup the $1.6 billion they originally paid for the meters by 2021. Every cent of revenue beyond operating costs from there on out will be return on investment, pure profit.

Okay, so the city got conned and got a raw deal. But it’s worse than that. The investors also negotiated for control over certain aspects of the system, including rates, which more than doubled by 2013. They’ve also billed the city millions of dollars to make up for taking the meters out of use for things like road construction and street festivals. The deal effectively makes it much more expensive to make long-term changes, like adding bike and bus lanes — for the next 65 years.

We need to tell the Chicago parking meter story over and over again, especially as cities nationwide — including Chicago — offer up massive tax breaks and public assets to lure Amazon into town. The only way we’ve got a shot at improving everyone’s quality of life, creating good jobs, slowing down climate change, and making our communities healthier and safer is by keeping our hands on the things we own together.

Otherwise, cities become playgrounds for the privileged and wealthy, while others, particularly the poor and people of color, suffer until they’re eventually pushed out.

A recent New York Times feature on a small town in the northwest of England, describes a haunting future for U.S. cities: “The old library building has been sold and refashioned into a glass-fronted luxury home. The leisure center has been razed, eliminating the public swimming pool. The local museum has receded into town history. Now, as the local government desperately seeks to turn assets into cash, Browns Field, a lush park in the center of town, may be doomed, too. At a meeting in November, the council included it on a list of 17 parks to sell to developers.”

Under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago has closed half its mental health clinics in the name of saving money. In February, the city’s Board of Education voted to close four South Side public high schools for lack of funds. (Though it’s important to note that the mayor recently found enough funding for a new police training academy.)

Meanwhile, Chicago is offering $2.25 billion in tax incentives and infrastructure to Amazon to locate its second headquarters in the area. Like Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, needs another break.

Jeremy Mohler is a writer and communications strategist for In the Public Interest, a nonprofit that advocates for the democratic control of public goods and services. He’d love to hear from you: jmohler@inthepublicinterest.org

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