As Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel marked his first 100 days in office today, his accomplishments, to –date, were numerous and noted. But, as he focuses on the challenges to be met in the vast balance of his first term, Emanuel has had a surprising potential adversary emerge – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.
Since replacing Richard M. Daley as mayor of Chicago, Emanuel has checked off a number of high-profile items on his mayoral “to-do” list, such as putting 750 additional police on beats, cutting $51 million from the city budget, eliminating the City Hall revolving door for lobbyists, putting more financial and procurement information on the internet and working with the General Assembly to lengthen the Chicago Public School day. But, his economic development wins may be the most impressive.
He has worked to help shine an international spotlight on the city with both the G-8 and NATO Summits convening in Chicago in May of 2012. He has also outlined innovative community redevelopment strategies, such as repositioning the Uptown neighborhood as a music district. His most concrete successes, though, have been in convincing companies such as United Airlines, Chase bank, Walgreens and Allscripts to create 4,000 new private sector jobs in the city - without offering elaborate incentive packages.
A key component of his in-development economic agenda revolves around establishing a land-based casino in Chicago. Emanuel has projected that the casino project would allow him to renovate 45 CTA stations, add 20 miles of new rail lines, add 40 miles of roads and water mains, build 25 new schools and make 150 buildings more energy efficient, in addition to creating as many as 10,000 jobs for construction workers and the hospitality and retail industries. The problem is that Governor Quinn has continued to hesitate on supporting the legislation in its current form, referring to it as “top heavy” – which he has not exactly defined.
A war of back and forth press statements between the two Democrats started last week with no hint of compromise or concession evident. Emanuel stated that Quinn asked him to provide the projections on how the city would utilize the casino revenue and that the governor was actually pleased with the report. But later, the Governor’s Office said it never made such a request and accused Emanuel of using the announcement to pressure Quinn into signing the bill and pre-spending the potential casino revenues. The press fracas ended with Quinn vowing to not make a hasty decision similar to the widely unpopular Chicago parking meter deal, which was actually orchestrated by Emanuel’s predecessor, and Emanuel refusing to let Chicago be held hostage by an Illinois Statehouse mired in historic financial woes.
Emanuel needs the jobs and the capital infusion from the proposed casino, especially with the expected lack of federal or state infrastructure funds being available in the near future through either regular appropriations or stimulus initiatives. But, Quinn has stated that he has concerns over the level of regulation and oversight included in the casino legislation. Emanuel refutes the regulatory concerns by referencing the lack of any historical or even anecdotal problems in regulating Illinois’ existing gaming boats.
More than likely, the General Assembly will make some adjustments to the gaming bill that should make it more palatable to Governor Quinn. But, it may be more interesting to see if this issue is a fissure that will evolve into a truly contentious relationship between Quinn and Emanuel, who each state that they have had a good relationship in the past. But, that was before Emanuel became mayor and historically, the agendas of the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago can differ - considerably.
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