News
Winds of Change
June 16, 2011
| The Better Government Association vowed to hold Mayor Rahm Emanuel's feet to the fire and BGA's Andy Shaw (the guy you saw anchoring ABC News all those years) is making good on that promise. Yesterday afternoon, he told us the mayor has a list of 55 improvements he wants to make, and some will benefit business. |
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| One of Rahm's campagin promises that would affect CRE pros: the creation of a TIF Advisory Board, which will evaluate future TIF requests to make sure they match the spirit of improving blighted areas instead of just bringing more attention to the Loop or Gold Coast. Andy tells us one way Rahm showed he can be business friendly was getting GE Capital and United to bring hundreds of jobs (and maybe more demand for office space) downtown. While neither got incentives to move to Chicago, it's been reported that Rahm's business ties "didn't hurt." |
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| Rahm's also making a push for better public transportation—he's promised to expand the Red Line south and lobby for transportation funding. That could mean more transit-oriented development. He's also made a commitment to the African-American wards that helped elect him and are underserved by transportation. On the flip side, Andy says Rahm hasn't addressed issues like the transfer tax and zoning. Andy also says Rahm hasn't been known as transparent in the past, so he'll keep an eye out to make sure promises are kept. |
