The Chicago Parking Meter Concession of 2008

On a Monday in early December 2008, most Chicagoans for the first time heard that the city’s parking meters could be privatized. By Thursday of that week, the ordinance approving the deal was passed by the City Council. Since then, there have been two city inspector general reports, a major lawsuit, a revised ordinance, and general outrage. The Chicago Parking Meter Concession of 2008 looks at the issue to make sense of what happened, how, and its impact on the city.