Photograph Source: aneekr – Public Domain

On February 4, 2025, Chicago’s business community pushed back against Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to raise real estate transfer taxes, adding to the city’s ongoing economic struggles.

Besides a struggling pension fund, high home prices, and other factors, a significant contributor to the city’s woes lies in the controversial privatization initiatives from the 2000s, known as the “Great Chicago Sell-Off.” Over the past two decades, these decisions have siphoned an estimated $3 to $4 billion from Chicago.

The privatization trend began under former Mayor Richard M. Daley, starting with the Chicago Skyway. In 2005, the 7.8-mile toll road was leased to a consortium led by Spain’s Ferrovial and Australia’s Macquarie Group for $1.83 billion. Tolls were raised immediately, and in 2016, the 99-year lease was sold to “a trio of Canadian pension funds” (the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP)) for $2.8 billion. Australia’s Atlas Arteria Ltd. then acquired a two-thirds stake for $2 billion in 2022, while OTTP retained the remainder.

In 2006, four downtown parking garages with more than 9,000 spaces were leased for 99 years to Morgan Stanley for $563 million. After Morgan Stanley defaulted on its debt tied to the lease agreement, control was transferred in 2014 to lenders, including France’s Societe Generale, the German government, and Italy’s UniCredit S.p.A. In 2016, Australia’s AMP Capital and Canada’s Northleaf Capital Partners acquired the garages.

Abu Dhabi came into the picture in 2008. In a $1.16 billion deal, 36,000 parking meters were sold to Chicago Parking Meters (CPM) LLC for 75 years, a consortium led by Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley’s Infrastructure group soon restructured CPM’s ownership, transferring major stakes to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Germany’s Allianz through complex investment vehicles.........

© CounterPunch