A proposal to transfer ownership of Chicago's privatized parking meter system to a New York investment firm is headed to a City Council Finance Committee hearing Thursday, after aldermen accused Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration of withholding key details about the deal.
Johnson's office confirmed in May a tentative agreement between Chicago Parking Meters LLC, the current owner led by Morgan Stanley, and Stonepeak Partners, a firm with roughly $88 billion in assets globally, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The transfer requires City Council approval but would not alter the underlying terms of the city's 75-year lease, which runs through 2083.
The Finance Committee was originally scheduled to take up the matter June 22nd, but postponed the hearing after council members said they needed more time to review deal documents. According to The Center Square, Finance Committee Chair Pat Dowell said at the June 22nd meeting that the delay was necessary because members had only just received additional information. "I have heard from a number of colleagues both on the committee and not on the committee that they need more time to review all of the information that was sent to everybody," Dowell said, according to The Center Square.
At least 22 aldermen have signed a letter to Johnson stating they intend to vote against the proposal. According to The Center Square, the letter accused the administration of acting without proper disclosure: "Your administration agreed to a binding timeline on behalf of the city of Chicago without informing the body that must vote on the underlying transaction."
Some aldermen have also raised concerns about Stonepeak's business ties. According to ABC7 Chicago, several mayoral allies have sought additional time to examine the firm's connections to an airline that has transported immigrants for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before any vote is taken.
Johnson has maintained that the decision ultimately rests with the council. "I'm doing what the law requires me to do," Johnson said, according to ABC7 Chicago. "I'm going to do my part to give City Council all that it needs in order to make a sophisticated response."
Attorney Dan Webb, representing Chicago Parking Meters LLC, has warned council members that delays could jeopardize the agreement. According to Audacy's WBBM Newsradio, Webb sent a letter to aldermen raising the possibility of legal action if Council delays cause the multibillion-dollar sale to expire.
Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd Ward, who voted against the city's original 2008 parking meter deal, said the lease's structure leaves little room for aldermen to extract new concessions regardless of who owns it. "Not even a pandemic could change this agreement, so I don't think the City Council coming in and talking about making changes is a possibility, but we'll see," Waguespack told NBC Chicago.
Ald. Gil Villegas, 36th Ward, was more pointed in his opposition. "This is a deal that happens to be the worst deal in the county, in history," Villegas said, according to ABC7 Chicago. "I'll be damned if I'm going to sit there and vote on a deal that the City of Chicago doesn't like, my residents don't like."
The original 2008 deal, brokered under then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, leased the meter system to private investors for $1.15 billion. A 2009 report from the city's inspector general found Chicago received roughly $974 million less than the system's value over the life of the lease, according to Planetizen.
Stonepeak is hoping for a full council vote by July, according to ABC7 Chicago. If the measure fails to advance by then, the next opportunity would come in September, since no council meeting is scheduled in August.