Mayor Johnson’s Team Secretly Offered $3.3 Billion To Buy Back City’s Parking Meters, Other Bidder Says

CHICAGO — Alderpeople learned Thursday that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration secretly offered about $3.3 billion last fall to reclaim control of the city’s parking meters — a whopping $800,000 more than the next-highest bidder. 

But the City Council members didn’t get those key details from the mayor, his aides or any other city officials. 

Instead, one of the investors set to buy the rights to the meters blurted out those figures after a city lawyer refused.

During a hearing of the council’s finance committee, Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th) asked the city attorney, Jim McDonald, how much the Johnson administration bid to buy back city control of the meter system. 

McDonald paused a moment and then said flatly that the bid information was subject to a confidentiality agreement the city had signed. So he wouldn’t answer.

That’s when James Wyper jumped in and said he would. 

Wyper was sitting at a table at the front of council chambers next to the committee chair, Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd). He was ready to speak on behalf of Stonepeak, the New York-based firm where he’s a senior managing director, about its impending purchase of the meter rights. He was so ready to speak that he repeatedly interjected when city officials were talking. 

“Well, I’m starting to like Mr. Wyper a whole lot more,” O’Shea said.

That got even the most skeptical alderpeople laughing.

Wyper said he understood the city’s bid was about $3.3 billion. 

“That seems crazy,” Wyper said a few minutes later.

Wyper and his colleagues said Stonepeak bid about $2.5 billion — which proved to be the winner after the city walked away. Stonepeak is now seeking City Council approval for its proposed takeover of the meter system. And the mayor is trying to avoid talking about it.

RELATED: Why Is Mayor Johnson Keeping Secrets About The Parking Meter Deal?

The revelations angered O’Shea and other alderpeople, who railed against the mayor and the city’s law department for failing to disclose the information sooner.

“So the mayor put a bid in six months ago, $3.3 billion, for parking meters that we don’t have the money for, didn’t disclose that to anybody in the City Council, and then agreed to a non-disclosure agreement, did not have to talk about said agreements, and now is unwilling to share all this information,” O’Shea said. “I’m guessing someone on the fifth floor is listening right now, and I think we need to get someone down here to answer some of these questions.”

The mayor’s office is on the fifth floor. But no one from the office appeared at the hearing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.