# Chicago's parking meter deal gets a second chance

> City Council negotiates benefits from a New York firm's $2.5 billion acquisition of the city's meters.
- Title: Chicago's parking meter deal gets a second chance | Shortify
- Summary: City Council negotiates benefits from a New York firm's $2.5 billion acquisition of the city's meters. Chicago could earn at least $376 million in…
- Keywords: chicago, parking meters, city council, stonepeak partners, brandon johnson, richard m. daley, latino caucus, chicago parking meters llc, city pensions, omni air international, deportation flights, news
- Source: Chicago Sun-Times — https://chicago.suntimes.com/morning-edition/2026/09/16/city-hall-parking-meter-daley-johnson-broadview-six-chaka-khan
- Published: 2026-09-16T13:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: chicago, parking meters, city council, stonepeak partners, brandon johnson, richard m. daley, latino caucus, chicago parking meters llc, city pensions, omni air international, deportation flights, news
## A new parking meter deal
City Council leaders brokered a deal for Stonepeak Partners to buy Chicago's parking meters for $2.5 billion, with benefits for the city and drivers.
## Unlike Daley's despised deal
This agreement differs from former Mayor Richard M. Daley's long-hated parking meter deal by including lucrative benefits for Chicago.
## Profit sharing arrangement
The deal includes 5% of net income from Stonepeak and Chicago Parking Meters LLC, expected to generate at least $376.2 million by 2083.
## Closing the budget gap
The deal could help address Chicago's $882 million budget shortfall and create a new revenue stream for the city.
## Money for pensions
The profit-sharing payments will be earmarked for Chicago's underfunded city pensions.
## Latino Caucus opposition
The City Council's Latino Caucus united against Stonepeak because it acquired Omni Air International, which provides deportation flights for Homeland Security.
## Stonepeak agrees to sell airline
To appease Latino Caucus members, Stonepeak committed to selling the charter airline that conducts deportation flights.
## Mayor Johnson was sidelined
Mayor Brandon Johnson was a bystander in the negotiations. The Law Department assisted a five-member City Council team.
## Gun fired on school bus
A bus aide left a bag with a gun on a school bus. A student found it and fired it near a 12-year-old boy with autism.
## Mother's terror
Laquita Anderson raced to her son Jimele Richardson's school after learning about the incident. Now he's scared of the bus and struggling to sleep.

> What happened?
## Bus aide charged
Steven Dixon Jr., 22, was charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property and misdemeanor child endangerment and reckless conduct.
## DIY bus stop benches
The Northwest Neighborhood Alliance has been building wooden benches at bus stops without seating. They say it's an accessibility issue and matter of dignity.
## Benches are technically illegal
The group wants to build more benches but is waiting to see what the city does because the benches violate city rules.
## Most stops lack seating
The CTA has nearly 11,000 bus stops, many without benches. The city removed benches over the last decade to deter loitering.
## Broadview Six seek special counsel
Attorneys for the acquitted protesters argue that significant failings by U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros show the need for an independent investigation.
## Chaka Khan's big year
Chicago native Chaka Khan, 73, has had a viral performance, a West End musical debut, a lifetime Grammy, and a Library of Congress honor in 2026.

> It's been nice and peaceful, and I am able to do what I really want to do with the music. I always wanted to feel this free with my music.
## Key takeaway

Chicago could earn at least $376 million in profit-sharing from a new parking meter deal that includes benefits for motorists, unlike the disastrous 2008 agreement.