IL: Mayor's office backs off "fully privatizing" McCormick
The Mayor's office and the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau are
today clarifying Daley's suggestion that McCormick Place be "fully
privatized." Speaking last night at the Greater North Michigan Ave.
Association awards gathering, Daley said McCormick Place should be run
by the private sector. “Bring the private sector in, you manage it,”
Daley said at the meeting, which was carried on WLS TV. “It should be
fully privatized because then you can run the cost down.” But experts
in the convention business say a fully privately owned and run
convention facility would be "impossible" because most if not all
centers are run at an operational deficit to bring tourism dollars to a
city. Privately run convention centers are becoming more commonplace though,
and that is apparently what the Mayor meant. Daley's office, meanwhile,
says the Mayor is simply floating ideas. "He does not mean selling this
as an asset," Jodi Kawada, a spokeswoman for the mayor, told the
Chicago Tribune. "This is just an idea at this point. The mayor is
trying to think creatively about jump starting the convention and
tourism industry in Chicago, which will require bold steps."
NBC Chicago
AZ: Editorial: How far can privatization go?
If government is only in the business of making money rather than
preservation and education, all sorts of partnerships are possible.
However, the possibilities are not necessarily beneficial to the
citizens of Arizona in the long run, and that should be at the
forefront of legislative thinking. State government should not give up
its obligations of ownership and responsible operation. Simply acting
as a landlord would be a disservice to all. Privatization has its
benefits in that concessionaires have a lot of motivation to turn a
profit. But if that is all the State of Arizona is about, our troubles
go far deeper than this nasty economic crisis, and all the cargo-dumps
in the world won't save it.
Camp Verde Bugle
MI: Detroit schools to outsource busing
Detroit Public Schools said Tuesday it would outsource student
transportation in an effort to save millions of dollars. Robert Bobb
said, the district's state-appointed emergency financial manger..called
the district's current busing system inefficient, and said that through
privatization, more students who walk to school or take district-funded
taxi cabs will now have access to a bus...Of the two companies
contracted for the district, one is local while the other is based in
Cincinnati. The contracts will total $115 million. The new bus services
are scheduled to start in May. A total of 22,304 students now are
bused.
ClickonDetroit
