Chicago Infrastructure Trust Passes But Unanswered Question Remains: Who Benefits?

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Before a proposal to create a Chicago Infrastructure Trust passed Tuesday, debate hinged on one question that critics say is still unanswered: whether private investors will benefit at the expense of the public good.

Just before the Chicago City Council approved the trust with a 41-7 vote, Mayor Rahm Emanuel presented it as a win for the city's citizens.

"If you want no taxes, and you don't want crumbling infrastructure, you have to have an idea," he said. "We are taking some of the pressure off of the taxpayers," he added. "Use somebody else's money for a change, rather than theirs."

But despite approval of the trust, questions about just what the fund will do -- and who stands to gain from its projects -- are only beginning.

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