The Parking Meter Deal

09.15.2026

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Joanna Klonsky
312-307-0840
press@joannaklonsky.com

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Alders Dowell, Lee, Waguespack Announce Successful Negotiation of Revised Parking Meter Deal

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CHICAGO (Tuesday, September 15, 2026)--Finance Committee Chair Pat Dowell (3), Ald. Nicole Lee (11) and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) announced on Tuesday that they have completed successful negotiations for a revised parking meter deal with Stonepeak Partners that includes numerous new benefits for the City of Chicago. 

In addition to Alders Dowell, Lee and Waguespack, Ald. Walter “Red” Burnett (27) and Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) also played a key role in negotiations, along with representatives from the City Law Department and special counsel for the City Council. 

The original deal to privatize the parking meters, passed in 2008, has been much maligned in the years since. Stonepeak attempted to buy the City’s parking meters earlier this year, but the proposed deal stalled amid objections from alders. Since then, a group convened by Chairwoman Dowell has been meeting with Stonepeak to seek a more amenable agreement. 

“This is a good deal for the City and for all Chicagoans,” said Chairwoman Dowell. “The completion of this agreement will be a departure from the old deal, which did not think about the people of the city of Chicago, and which yielded little benefit for the City. This proposed agreement, on the other hand, offers long term benefits for City government and for the taxpayers. I thank the great negotiating team and the Johnson administration’s Law Department, who came together to get this done–they’re a group of individuals who care deeply about this city. I urge all of my colleagues to support this agreement, embrace the benefits it offers, and prevent costly legal proceedings that could come about were it to be rejected.”

The terms of the agreement include:
 

• Omni Sale: A commitment from Stonepeak to sell Omni Air international, a company that provides long haul deportation flights for the Department of Homeland Security. That sale will be confirmed via a certified document, following federal approvals. Stonepeaks’ ownership of Omni sparked concern among the City Council earlier this year, given the role Omni has played in ICE operations that have severely impacted Chicago residents. 

• Transfer Fee: A transfer fee of $75 million to the City at the closing of the sale. Any future transfer will require that the City receive an additional transfer fee of 2 percent of the sale price. Any revenue from the current or any future transfer fee will be directed to the City’s pension liability.

• Profit Sharing: Profit sharing for the City equal to 5 percent of CPM’s net operating income annually. This is expected to yield $376.2 million for the City of Chicago over the course of the remainder of the agreement. That revenue will also be directed to the City’s pension liability.

• Future Transfer Procedure: A future transfer procedure that requires that in any future transfer of the asset, the Chief Financial Officer will have 30 days to review the approval request from CPM and submit a recommendation to the City Council. The City Council will then have up to 90 days to consider the approval request and approve or disapprove the proposed transfer.

• Temporary Event Closure: A temporary event closure plan allowing that for seven annual events, the usual hourly threshold for closure payments from the City will be increased from six hours to 10 hours. If closure payments are due for any of these events, the payments will be made by the City from available settlement credits or, if credits are unavailable, from convenience fee or reserve meter revenue.

• EV Charging: CPM and the City will examine establishing certain non-metered blocks as potential electric-vehicle charging stations. Once such blocks are designated by the City, CPM will operate these blocks, and the revenue generated will be shared between the City and CPM.

• Enforcement Staff Protections: The Concession Agreement will include a section prescribing appropriate standards for treatment of the enforcement staff, both internally and in interactions with motorists.

• Chicago Residency: CPM will be required to ensure that at least 50 percent of its employees and the employees of LAZ working on the metered parking system are Chicago residents. CPM also will be required, in connection with its annual reports on this requirement, to specify the percentage of such City residents who are residing in socio-economically disadvantaged areas of the City (as identified under rules promulgated by the City's Department of Planning and Development pursuant to Section 2-92-390 of the Municipal Code).

• Data Sharing: CPM will be prohibited from sharing its information about users of the system with immigration enforcement authorities. 

• Meter Overpayment: CPM will be prohibited from collecting parking fees from motorists parking at metered spaces while such spaces are temporarily closed, or during time periods outside the hours of operation for such spaces.

Ald. Waguespack, who was one of just five alders to vote against the parking meter deal in 2008, has been the loudest critic of the deal ever since. “This deal always seemed iron clad and impossible to change–but through these negotiations, we were able to break it open and make significant changes. I am certain that is absolutely the best pathway we could get, and I’m proud to support it. I urge my colleagues to do the same.”

“Our team was focused on how to get the best deal for the residents–and we knew that had to include long term benefits, not just a one-time transfer fee,” said Ald. Lee. “I’m proud of the work that we did, especially to ensure that any future transfer of this asset includes a transfer fee, and that there will be a sharing of the profits on an ongoing basis. It’s wonderful news that our children won’t have to pay for more debt for this asset in the future. Instead, we’re getting an actual cash benefit over the rest of the life of this contract.”

Aldermanic briefings on this proposal are scheduled for September 15.

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Media: 

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• Deal Reached to Sell Chicago Parking Meters to Investment Firm, Alderpeople Say

• City Council Leaders Broker Compromise on Parking Meters, Focus of the Deal Chicagoans Love to Hate​

• Chicago Aldermen Say They've Reached New Parking Meter Deal, Including Profit Share

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