Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Monday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“President Trump recently discussed the potential for infrastructure reform with Democratic leaders. One way such large projects can be paid for is via public-private partnerships. In new research, Stephanie Farmer and Chris D. Poulos examine the development of such partnerships in Chicago during the tenure of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. They find that through political campaign contributions and involvement in business civic organizations, global financial interests have been able to influence infrastructure planning and priorities, including promoting public-private partnerships as a means of financing projects. These projects, they write, often see financial firms maximizing their own profits from public infrastructure.”
– Chicago Shows How Global Financial Firms Can Acquire Control Over Local Infrastructure Planning And Financing Decision-Making
“Recently, President Trump and Democratic Congressional leaders met to discuss a $2 trillion deal to rebuild and modernize the nation’s infrastructure. While the talks did not specify how projects will be financed, private finance capital is well-positioned to play a central role in a public works program given strong bipartisan support for public-private partnerships (P3s). The recent history of Chicago’s infrastructure planning reveals how private financial interests have gained influence within local governments, enabling financial firms to prioritize local infrastructure projects that generate income streams for profit-making over other public policy goals, like environmental and economic justice.


“Over the past two decades, U.S. urban infrastructure has emerged as an important setting for capital investment. Private control over public infrastructure is usually accomplished through a P3 agreement. In P3 deals, financial firms invest in public infrastructure in exchange for exclusive rights over the use of infrastructure and the collection of monopoly rents, usually in the form of user fees and fares, or a dedicated revenue stream.
“The public is nearly always on the losing end of these deals. P3s have resulted in the loss of public control over space, increased user fees to access public goods, penalties activated by obscure contractual clauses, and a reconstitution of municipal governments’ priorities from providing public goods towards guaranteeing income streams for investors.”
*
For example:


*
Or, you could believe this from a two-time Rahm Emanuel voter:


*
Yes, I know the parking meter deal was Daley’s, but it was emblematic of a strategy Emanuel would double down on, as the research shows, and some would say he didn’t do all he could have done to try to reverse or mitigate the parking meter deal more than he claimed he did. You decide!
*
I’d like to know if the specific Morgan Stanley execs who executed this deal feel good about themselves and what they’ve done to the city. Who were the specific dealmakers? Have they ever been named? And the beneficiaries – not just the names of their funds and organizations, but the actual individuals . . . Can we beg them for mercy?
Documentary Assignment Desk: A Roger & Me-style chasing down of the parking meter people – from here to Abu Dhabi. Have they no shame?
–
New on the Beachwood . . .
Stateville 7 Graduates From NEIU
“A pivotal milestone in Illinois for the advancement of educational programming behind bars.”
*
The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #251: The Problem With The Cubs Fan Ban
Joe Ricketts remains, among other things. Plus: Roger’s Suspicious Cuba Trip; Fuck Yu; Addison Russell’s Return; Stats Cast; Are The White Sox A Wild-Card Contender?; and Derby Stewards Show More Courage Than Congress.
*
Tone Down The Future
In The White Sox Report.
–
ChicagoReddit

Here’s a Chicago joke from r/chicago


–
ChicagoGram


–
ChicagoTube
WMAQ Channel 5 – Bubble Gum Digest – “Kiddie Disco / Freddie Prinze” (Premiere Episode, 3/7/1976)

–
BeachBook
San Francisco Police Raid Journalist’s Home After He Refuses To Name Source.

*
At Black Colleges, Baseball Teams Increasingly Aren’t.

*
American Airlines Made $1.2 Billion Last Year By Charging Travelers For Their Least Favorite Thing.

*
Coca-Cola Paid $9 Million To Influence French Health Researchers.

Can we please name and shame the Coke executives and employees who carried this out? That never seems to happen. Coke is not a living entity; it is an organization of people who are responsible for their actions.
*
Greyston Bakery And The Open Hiring Model.

*
How A Half-Ton Of Cocaine Transformed An Island.

*
Helium Shortage Deflating Party City’s Business.

–
TweetWood
A sampling.


*


*


*


–
The Beachwood McRibTipLine: Maybe Jolisa.

Permalink

Posted on May 13, 2019