Group of city council members seeks to block sale of Chicago's parking meters

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Years ago, Chicago's parking meters were sold to a private company.

It is considered one of the worst municipal deals in the country. Now, the meters are being sold again, but at least 22 alderpersons are trying to block the deal.

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For almost 20 years, the money generated from the city's parking meters has gone into the deep pockets of a private company.

It was a 75-year deal then-Mayor Richard M. Daley inked for a short-term cash infusion. The private owners, led by Morgan Stanley, have more than doubled their investment.

"This is a deal that happens to be the worst of it deal in the county, in history. In history," said 36th Ward Ald. Gil Villegas.

The only nugget the Chicago City Council got from the deal is approval of future sales.

Morgan Stanley is selling the parking meters to Stone Peak, a New York investment firm. Both parties are hoping for city council approval by July's monthly meeting.

"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." Villegas said.

Villegas is one of 22 alderpersons who signed a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson, saying they will vote "no" on the sale. Villegas says he is doing out of principle.

Others signed the letter because they blame the Johnson administration for withholding information about the deal. Ald. Scott Waguespack, who represents the 32nd Ward, is concerned about a non-disclosure agreement signed between the Johnson administration and Morgan Stanley.

"That signals that if you're hiding behind an NDA, an NDA, you definitely have something to hide," Waguespack said.

Waguespack was one of only five alderpersons who voted against the parking meter deal in 2008.

A written statement released by the mayor's office reads, in part, "Council members retain the ability to inquire directly with the buyer about the transaction and any information they deem relevant to their consideration of the transfer."

Others will not make any decision about how they will vote until they explore changing the original deal.

"There may be an opportunity for us to, you know, get some of that out of this deal, so we don't know what we don't know, and I think it's a little premature to say 'no' just because of, you know, one's feelings toward the administration," said Budget Committee Chairman Ald. Jason Ervin.

But Waguespack says changing the original deal is a long shot. He says many lawyers have tried, and it is an ironclad contract.

Whether there is a parking meter vote on the sale this summer or fall, no matter the outcome, the city is stuck with the deal for another 58 years.