Alderwoman Pat Dowell, who chairs the City Council's Finance Committee, announced less than an hour before the expected vote that it would not move forward. She told colleagues in the Council chamber that "the much anticipated vote on the sale of the parking meters was not going to happen today because of a new twist," citing undisclosed talks related to the transaction.
Chicago Parking Meters LLC is seeking to sell the city's parking meter system to Stonepeak, the company that submitted the winning bid. During a committee hearing last month, Stonepeak executives revealed that the city itself had also submitted a bid - one that Mayor Brandon Johnson ultimately chose not to pursue. That bid, they said, was nearly $800 million higher than Stonepeak's offer.
Several aldermen criticized the administration for signing a nondisclosure agreement that prevented Council members from learning about the city's bid. Others raised concerns about Stonepeak's business holdings, including ownership of a private airline involved in immigration deportation flights.
Ald. Bill Conway of the 34th Ward said, "And we have a situation where we have seen ICE in our, you know, immigration enforcement, in our schools, in our community centers, and now we have a situation where the buyer of the parking meters is a company that that owns another company that has been doing harsh dehumanizing ICE deportations."
Ald. Marty Quinn of the 13th Ward added, "I was part of 22 alders that said no way back a month ago, and it had everything to do with the mayor playing shenanigans with the deal, him bidding on it, not not telling anybody."
Facing the likelihood that the Finance Committee would vote down the sale - a move that could jeopardize the deal and expose the city to arbitration or a potential lawsuit - the measure was tabled.
The delay means the next opportunity for a vote will likely come in September, as the City Council does not meet in August. A statement from the mayor's office is expected, though it had not been released as of Monday afternoon.
The parking meter system has been controversial since it was privatized under then-Mayor Richard M. Daley for more than $1 billion.
Critics have called the original deal one of the worst in the city's history.