Chicago aldermen say they are close to sweetening the deal on the city’s infamous parking meter privatization by prying key concessions from the system’s prospective new buyer.
A group of aldermen announced Tuesday that they have agreed with Stonepeak Partners on a pact under which the city would receive a $75 million lump payout and get 5% of the system’s future profits, which the aldermen estimated would be worth around $376.2 million over the remainder of the 75-year lease.
The City Council for months has pressured Stonepeak to negotiate on the terms of the lease, threatening to not approve the sale without changes to the widely reviled agreement. But with the support of several key aldermen, the New York investment firm’s effort to buy the system appears a major step closer to approval.
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During an unrelated news conference Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he hopes aldermen reach a final decision soon, maintaining his posture of carefully avoiding endorsing or opposing a sale. He praised aldermen and advisers from his administration for working to reach a deal.
“Quite frankly, some people didn’t think we could come up with a better agreement. I always believed that there was a pathway forward to get a better deal,” Johnson said.
Any change of ownership would still need to be approved by the full council. Stonepeak could not immediately be reached for comment.
The proposed concessions make it more likely a majority of aldermen will vote for the firm’s purchase of the system from Chicago Parking Meters LLC. The current owner, led by Morgan Stanley, signed a 75-year lease for roughly 36,000 meters in 2008, orchestrated and rushed through the council by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley.
The deal has proved disastrous, as the system is now expected to generate billions more than the $1.15 billion for which Daley and aldermen sold it.
It was the political weight of that notorious contract that sparked aldermen to push for better terms as the entire council will be on the ballot in early 2027.
“The completion of this agreement will be a departure from the old deal, which did not think about the people of the city of Chicago, and which yielded little benefit for the City,” Finance Committee Chair Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, said in a statement about the negotiations. “This proposed agreement, on the other hand, offers long term benefits for City government and for the taxpayers.”
Dowell and Aldermen Nicole Lee, 11th, and Scott Waguespack, 32nd, led the negotiations, according to their statement, while Aldermen Walter “Red” Burnett, 27th, and Gilbert Villegas, 36th, also played key roles.
Aldermen tested their chances of improving the deal for months, an effort first reported by the Tribune that saw various City Council factions pledge to reject a sale for a host of reasons.
Some decried Stonepeak’s ownership of Omni Air International, a charter airline that carried out long-haul deportation flights for the federal government.
Others blasted Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration for not sharing enough information about the deal. And several stated what perhaps all aldermen had in mind: By standing against the sale, the City Council had leverage to win a better deal.
Aldermen appeared poised to strike down the deal in July before Dowell delayed a vote.
Waguespack, one of only five “no” votes against the original Daley deal in 2008, said the old agreement had long seemed ironclad.
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“But through these negotiations, we were able to break it open and make significant changes,” he said in a statement. “I am certain that is absolutely the best pathway we could get, and I’m proud to support it. I urge my colleagues to do the same.”
As a part of the agreement aldermen outlined Tuesday, Stonepeak also agreed to sell Omni Air International.
Also, the company agreed to relax rules allowing the city to more easily and cheaply shut down streets several times a year, reached new terms on how future sales must be approved and agreed to require at least half the parking system’s employees reside in Chicago.
Many details remain to be seen and potentially debated by aldermen, including an agreement that the parking meter’s owners and the city would split revenue from new electronic vehicle charging stations made available at parking spots.
A spokesperson for the aldermen behind the tentative deal did not immediately respond when asked how much money the stations are expected to bring in, what the revenue split would be and if other vendors were approached on charging.
Dowell said the details for EV charging have not yet been worked out and will not be before the Sept. 30 deadline by which the City Council must approve or reject the parking meter lease sale.
“Those elements will be part of future negotiations by a certain date as defined in the amendment,” she said.