Mayor Daley has been selling off our civic assets at an alarming rate and at terrible cost to the city. He’s already given away the Skyway, city parking lots and parking meters. With Midway and our water system on the chopping block, we need John Arena to counteract the rubber stamp members of City Council.

Privatization trades away our future in three important ways:

1. We’re selling ourselves short. The value of vital community resources -- such as the Skyway and our parking system -- will increase over the life of the lease. However, Mayor Daley and City Hall sold them off in today’s prices, costing us millions in the long run. Private companies will reap massive profit from what should have been city revenue for decades to come.
   
   
2. We’re giving up control over our city. Corporations don’t have the accountability to the public that elected officials do. With nothing but their company’s bottom line in mind, CEOs are much more likely to raise prices on Chicagoans than politicians are.
   
   
3. It makes money more expensive. With the rate at which City Hall and the mayor dip into the supposed “rainy-day funds” created by selling off our assets in order to make ends meet in the budget, we’re not making any interest on the investment. Furthermore, Chicago’s credit rating could be downgraded in the future because of this reckless raiding, making it more expensive for the city to borrow.