Greg Hinz on two sides of the Lightfoot/Lincoln Yards question has this in middle of very good summary:
Though I had and still have reservations about the size of the Lincoln Yards project, a city can only have one mayor at a time. Our current mayor negotiated two enormous deals that may in the end yield $10 billion or more in private investment here. What message would it send to other potential investors if we walked away from the deal?
A discouraging one, of course.
Similarly, I think the progressives really are way, way off base in much of their opposition. The $2 billion-plus in subsidies mostly is for transportation infrastructure, the type of thing government generally pays for. And that money won’t “come from” public schools, however much the CTU screams. It will come from property taxes paid by the developers. With few exceptions, the schools will get that money back by raising their property tax rate a little higher on landowners not located in the TIF districts
Well. Should but won’t quiet the protestors.
What a nice balance to what we of the 40th (and other wards) heard by rote from runoff candidates. The progressive five on the council, including our giant-slayer Andre Vasquez, should take note.
Blithe Spirit 