Chicago aldermen are weighing whether a pending sale of the city’s widely criticized parking meter lease could give them a rare opportunity to extract concessions from the private operators who have profited from the 2008 privatization deal for nearly two decades.
New York investment firm Stonepeak Partners is seeking to acquire the lease from Chicago Parking Meters LLC, a transaction that requires City Council approval. Several aldermen say they want to use that leverage to at least tweak the terms of a deal that has cost Chicago drivers billions in ever-increasing parking rates while the revenue flows to private companies rather than city coffers.
“The worst-case scenario is the status quo,” said Ald. Walter “Red” Burnett, 27th, framing the council’s position as one with little to lose.
Among the possible leverage points is a clause in the meter deal allowing the council to consider “the background and reputation” of the proposed operator. Aldermen have noted that Stonepeak owns an air freight company with a subsidiary that carries out deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a background they argue puts the firm at odds with Chicago’s policies opposing ICE activities.
The original 2008 lease, pushed through the City Council in three days under then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, sold a 75-year lease for $1.15 billion. According to an April audit, the parking system earned a record $189 million in revenue last year alone, bringing total earnings over $2 billion since the sale — far exceeding the original payout.
The lease also imposes extensive burdens on the city, including “true-up” payments when streets with metered spots are closed. Those payments totaled nearly $12 million last year, discouraging the city from closing streets for festivals or removing spots for bike lanes.
Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, vice chair of the Finance Committee, said City Council is “not some ministerial rubber stamp in this process.” A University of Illinois Chicago law professor agreed, telling aldermen they have wide latitude to approve or reject the transaction.
