CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Some members of Chicago's City Council used a hearing on the planned sale of the city's parking meter contract to lash out at the Johnson Administration's handling of the sale.
And those aldermen got an unexpected assist from an executive for the private equity group that wants to buy the contract.
Stonepeak Partners has entered into an agreement to pay $2.53 billion to take over "Chicago Parking Meters LLC" from the consortium that owns it, including JP Morgan and interests in the United Arab Emirates. Stonepeak's senior managing director James Wyper tried to strike a note of transparency and openness at the beginning of his appearance at Thursday's meeting of the council's Finance Committee.
"You have a right to interrogate us as owners," Wyper said. "I'm available any time - I guess this is being broadcast live, but I'll give you all my cellphone."
Under the terms of the deal that gave up the city's rights to street parking revenue for 75 years, Chicago aldermen must ratify any sale of the concession, even though it's technically not a party to the sale. The seller has hinted it may pursue legal action against the city if it fails to ratify the sale by the end of next month, meaning City Council members and Mayor Johnson are about to be forced to make a difficult choice between voting to continue a universally-hated deal or voting "no" and leaving the city open to a potential lawsuit.
During questioning, aldermen including Matt O'Shea from the Far South side accused the mayor's team of deliberately hiding details of the deal from aldermen, including the particulars of the Johnson Administration's own failed bid for the meters last fall.
"What was that bid?" asked O'Shea (19th Ward).
When Jim McDonald from the Law Department said he was bound by a non-disclosure agreement, Wyper jumped in with what he says his team gathered through "competitive intel:" "Three-point-three billion dollars," all of which would have to have been raised through a sale of municipal bonds.
Northwest side Alderwoman Samantha Nugent noted the timing of the city's bid: "The city came in roughly a billion over (Stonepeak) ... and all while we were duking out the most contentious budget in the history of the city of Chicago."
Ald. Nugent (39th Ward) called it "disheartening," and Wyper tried to empathize: "It's ridiculous that you've been asked to make a decision on the basis of no information."
Other aldermen used their time to ask pointed questions about other branches of Stonepeak, including Omni Air, which runs deportation flights for the Department of Homeland Security.
"There is nothing about anything this organization and company is doing that anyone should want to be a part of," said Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward).
Wyper said an active sale of Omni Air is in process, and said D-H-S actions under the Trump Administration "could not be more abhorrent."
"If there's anything I could be doing - I'll say it to your face - I would be doing it," he responded.
Vasquez shot back that Omni was handling deportation flights long before the current administration: "I appreciate the bleeding heart right now. Y'all weren't doing that when you decided to buy it."
A Finance Committee vote could come as soon as July 13.
$2.53 billion private-equity deal hinges on City Council vote
$2.53 billion private-equity deal hinges on City Council vote
