The Illinois Sports Facility Authority paid $1.6 million for a September concert at Guaranteed Rate Field, featuring Diddy and Fat Joe, even though it had to cancel the event.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has emphatically denied the Cubs’ request for more night games at Wrigley Field – continuing the decades-old hostile relationship between the team and city government.
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan reportedly uses his large quantity of Cubs and White Sox tickets as gifts for his political volunteers, but his history with professional sports teams in Chicago isn’t so generous.
Springfield lawmakers passed a ceremonial resolution March 8 congratulating the Chicago Cubs on winning the 2016 World Series. But that pat on the back doesn’t make up for the adversarial relationship politicians have held with the Cubs and other professional sports franchises in Chicago.
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s grip on the state’s legislative process once delayed the Cubs’ quest for lights at Wrigley Field – and 30 years later, the Cubs are still feuding with politicians.
Taxpayers will shell out $36 million for Soldier Field in 2016, in addition to footing the bill for U.S. Cellular Field. And the city of Chicago is still pushing a plan for DePaul University that would cost an initial $55 million for a new basketball stadium.
Several instances of corruption and mismanagement of public property and trust came to light in March and included new developments in cases involving Chicago Public Schools’ former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.