Alders Press City Leaders, Staff on Details of Parking Meter Sale

Aldermen gathered for a subject matter hearing held by the City Council Finance Committee to question city department staff and representatives from investment firm Stonepeak Partners LP (Stonepeak) and Chicago Parking Meters (CPM). Stonepeak wishes to purchase Chicago’s network of parking meters from its current owner, CPM. 

Pursuing a sale requires the City Council to approve a transfer under section 17.1 of the parking meter deal. Thursday’s subject matter hearing was held to allow aldermen to gain additional information from the Department of Finance, the Department of Law, and the meter’s current and potential owners. 

Getting information proved difficult for aldermen. Managing Deputy Corporation Counsel James McDonald repeatedly declined to answer questions in a public setting, citing a loss of privilege in communications with the City Council, one of the Department of Law's clients. 

The task was made harder by the Department of Law’s repeated objection to being fully released from a non-disclosure agreement that was entered into by the city and the mayor’s office when the city became interested in purchasing the meters in August 2025 and that it remains in effect until August 2027. Stonepeak and CPM fully released the city from the NDA on June 12^th to assist in completing the deal.

McDonald disagreed. Citing “unresolved ambiguities," he repeatedly declined to answer questions on whether the mayor supports the transfer, whether the city believes CPM could default on the deal, or what the city bid to buy them back. “Chair [Dowell], we’re seeing a lot of people who do not want to touch this," said Alderwoman Nugent (39^th) after no city staff would answer her questions. Alderman Waguespack (32^nd) noted he submitted FOIA requests over the lack of answers from the Mayor’s team. 

Adding insult to injury, Alderpersons Villegas (36^th) and Nugent repeatedly brought up that the city had retained Jones Day as special counsel to the City Council so that the Department of Law was not providing contradictory advice to the mayor's office and them. However, the city's continued objection to “unresolved ambiguities” meant that Jones Day, who was hired by the city, could not provide legal counsel to aldermen. 

A lack of answers from city departments did not stop alderpersons from receiving information. Stonepeak’s head of transportation and logistics, Jim Wyper, answered many questions the Department of Law declined.

One detail revealed to Aldermen by Wyper was the city bid $3.3B for the buyback in Q4 2025. Wyper cautioned that figure was not disclosed by the city but was discovered during competitive bid analysis conducted by Stonepeak. Wyper reported the opening offer by Stonepeak was $2.53B and the city had overbid them by nearly $800M.

Aldermen were shocked the city valued the assets at $800M more than Stonepeak, which caused Alderman Anthony Moore (17^th) to claim, “Anyone who bids $800M over needs to be fired.”

Aldermen LaSpata (1^st), Vasquez (40^th), and Sigcho-Lopez (25^th) repeatedly pressured Stonepeak on its expected profit and companies in its current portfolio including Seapeak Maritime Limited, a UK-based transporter of Russian liquefied natural gas. Wyper defended its investment stating it started before Russian sanctions were introduced and that the natural gas being transported played a role in helping developing countries transition off coal. 

Stonepeak’s position in Omni Air, a charter airline, became a frequent issue for progressive aldermen. Omni Air operates charter flights to 3^rd party countries where asylum seekers have no previous relationship. Stonepeak again defended its position, saying it had purchased Omni’s parent company, Air Transport Services Group, before the current administration when it was operating Department of Defense flights for military families living overseas. 

This answer was not accepted by Alderman Vasquez (40^th) who countered that such 3^rd party removals had taken place with Omni before the current administration.

City Council now aims to approve or deny the ordinance by July 26^th. When asked what would happen if a majority of the City Council were to vote against the transfer, Wyper said, "We'll go away and you’ll never hear from us again.”