{"id":2263171,"date":"2024-06-09T05:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-09T09:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-are-chicagos-parking-meters-owned-in-part-by-foreign-investors\/"},"modified":"2024-06-09T05:13:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-09T09:13:00","slug":"why-are-chicagos-parking-meters-owned-in-part-by-foreign-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-are-chicagos-parking-meters-owned-in-part-by-foreign-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do foreign investors partially own Chicago&#8217;s parking meters?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-are-chicagos-parking-meters-owned-in-part-by-foreign-investors%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2263171&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Plaintiffs\u2062 read.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This article discusses the controversial privatization deal of Chicago&#8217;s parking meters and how it has caused resentment among its residents. In 2008, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thousands-of-florida-households-facing-financial-ruin-in-wake-of-hurricane-ian\/\" title=\"Thousands Of Florida Households Facing Financial \u2018Ruin\u2019 In Wake Of Hurricane Ian\">facing financial difficulties<\/a>, the city of Chicago agreed to sell \u2064its 36,000 parking\u200d meters\u200b to a company called Chicago\u200b Parking Meters LLC, \u2064which\u200d is owned \u2063by foreign investors. \u200cThis \u2062deal was seen \u200das a solution to the\u200d city&#8217;s financial problems \u2064at the time but \u2062has since \u200bsparked \u2062outrage as the parking rates have skyrocketed, with \u2064some areas charging up to $7 per hour. The company has already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-engorons-inflation-of-trumps-ill-gotten-gains-is-the-real-financial-fraud\/\" title=\"Judge Engoron's inflation of Trump's 'ill-gotten gains' is the true financial fraud\">made significant\u200b profits<\/a>, while \u200dthe city has lost out on potential \u200drevenue. Attempts to challenge the deal \u2064in court \u2064have been unsuccessful, and the contract will not end until 2084. This has left\u200d many\u200d residents wondering if \u200cthere is any way to \u2062get out of this\u2063 agreement, which is widely seen as a bad deal for\u2062 the city.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>When you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/parking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>park<\/a> your car in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chicago\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Chicago<\/a> and pay the meter, the payment doesn\u2019t go to the city like most American cities. Instead, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-company-partly-owned-by-dr-oz-received-the-largest-fine-in-ice-history\/\" title=\"Report: Company Partly Owned by Dr. Oz Received the Largest Fine in ICE History\">company partly owned<\/a> by foreign investors is pocketing the revenue. <\/p>\n<p>In the dire straits of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2008-financial-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>2008 financial crisis<\/a>, like many people, the city of Chicago had fallen on hard times. <\/p>\n<p>Strapped for cash, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley began to think of ways for the city to privatize its assets. The seven-term mayor attempted to sell Midway International Airport in September 2008 in what would have been the first commercial airport in the United States to become privatized. Investors from New York, Boston, and Canada <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcchicago.com\/news\/local\/daley_strikes_deal_to_lease_midway_airport\/1837710\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>offered<\/a> to pay $2.5 billion to privatize the city\u2019s South Side airport in a 99-year lease.<\/p>\n<p>The plan fell through.\u00a0But Chicago\u2019s 36,000 parking meters seemed like a good idea. <\/p>\n<h2>How did Chicago get into this contract?<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cPeople looking for fast cash usually get a bad deal,\u201d Clint Krislov, the director of IIT Chicago-Kent\u2019s Center for Open Government Law Clinic, told the<em> Chicago Sun-Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Daley said the deal was \u201cthe best thing that has happened for us in regards to getting out of this business.\u201d Chicago Parking Meters LLC was formed, a company that is mostly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcchicago.com\/news\/politics\/the-abu-dhabi-hustle\/1953531\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>owned<\/a> by Morgan Stanley but has a Saudi oil company as well as some German companies involved in the investment.<\/p>\n<p>The city received $1.16 billion in the sale. Within three years, Chicago spent all of the proceeds from the sale and started increasing its fares even faster. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Sicilia Giovanni feeds one of the new parking meters in Chicago on May 28, 2009. With the slumping economy, the city privatized the city\u2019s parking meters in a $1.1 billion, 75-year deal as a way to make money. (AP Photo\/Charles Rex Arbogast)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Before 2008, parking in Chicago cost 25 cents per hour for many decades. By 2009, rates had quadrupled to $1 per hour and have only increased since, with some street parking in downtown Chicago costing up to $7 per hour. As of 2023, 80% of Chicago\u2019s parking meters cost $2.50.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago Parking Meters LLC has already been raking in the profits, amounting to large amounts of cash Chicago is missing out on. According to the <em>Chicago Sun-Times,<\/em> the company <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/2021\/6\/7\/22523020\/chicago-parking-meter-deal-chicago-skyway-municipal-finances-richard-m-daley-editorial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"took\">took<\/a> in $91.6 million alone in 2020 and $138 million in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>As of 2023, investors of CPM LLC have <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/city-hall\/2023\/6\/11\/23755615\/chicago-parking-meters-annual-audit-record-revenue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>regained<\/a> their entire investment and profited $500 million total, although 60 years remain in the contract. The contract won\u2019t end until 2084 and has held up against numerous legal challenges. <\/p>\n<h2>Can Chicago get out of it?<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s unlikely Chicago will be able to get out of the contract. The deal has survived three legal challenges, including the Supreme Court\u2019s recent refusal to hear the case.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, three Chicago residents sued Chicago Parking Meter LLC in Northern Illinois District Court. The plaintiffs argued the investment group had an \u201cunlawful monopoly\u201d on parking in Chicago, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/chicagos-decades-long-parking-privatization-contract-goes-before-seventh-circuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>Courthouse News<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cCPM has obtained an unlawful monopoly for an unreasonable 75-year period over the lease of parking spaces in a fixed number and at fixed rates and without active regulation by the City, without regard to consumer preferences for alternative forms of transportation,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/dsgchicago.com\/dsgchicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/document-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>complaint<\/a> from 2021 read.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint failed, as did the others. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly did not counter the idea that CPM had a monopoly on the parking meters, but he said Chicago was within its rights to sell the parking meters. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing in the text of the [Illinois Municipal Code] suggests that the city is required to own and operate parking meters on public streets,\u201d the district judge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/chicago-parking-meters-ruling.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, where U.S. Circuit Judge Diane Wood noted that there were other parking options in the city, including private garages. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone has to use the Chicago Parking Meters system sooner or later who has a car in the city of Chicago,\u201d attorney Thomas Howard Geoghegan said in court on behalf of the plaintiffs. \u201cThis is a monopoly. It is a violation of the Sherman Act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it your bottom line \u2026 just that unfortunately the city just cut a very bad deal for itself back when it decided to contract with CPM?\u201d the circuit judge asked after further deliberation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The ruling from the district court was upheld in the 7th Circuit. They said while the deal \u201cmight have been foolish\u201d or \u201cshort-sighted,\u201d it was \u201cnot enough to state a claim for a violation of the antitrust laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, the Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/government\/us-supreme-court-wont-wade-into-chicago-parking-meter-fight-2023-10-30\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>refused to hear<\/a> an appeal of the ruling from the 7th Circuit. The high court did not give a reason for refusal and effectively ended Chicagoans\u2019 chance of getting rid of the contract.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Chicago, when you pay for parking, the money doesn&#8217;t go to the city but to a company with foreign stakeholders. During the 2008 financial crisis, financially struggling Chicago leased its parking meters to this private entity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2263172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/chicago-meter.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2263171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/chicago-meter.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2263171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2263172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2263171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2263171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2263171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}