Chicago's inspector general says the city made two of the most basic blunders when it recently made a billion dollar deal to lease out parking meters.
A report being released this afternoon by David Hoffman's office finds the city jumped at a short-term boost in revenue without looking at the long-term consequences.
The report also criticizes Mayor Richard Daley for foisting the deal on the city council without any time for debate. The mayor announced the deal on a tuesday and the city council approved the deal on a thursday.
In the report Hoffman says there was no meaningful public review and as a result, the city got a bad deal. The inspector general estimates that bad deal will cost the city $974 million.
Related: Full report (pdf)
Related: City's response to inspector general's report