Chicagoans waiting for the effects of the economic stimulus to be seen in our town were treated to a sweet beginning Friday, though it was soured somewhat by the fact that our construction season is already halfway over. Mayor Richard M. Daley and his security detail drove as far north and west as you can go and still be inside Chicago's city limits, to the scene of a road construction project extending along Milwaukee Avenue from Montrose to Gale Avenue in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, where he met with the entourage of Fifth District Congressman Michael Quigley to announce commencement of Chicago's five year, $8.4 billion city wide capital construction program.
Funded by a mixture of federal stimulus appropriations, state highway appropriations [yes, there are state highways inside the city] city bond issues and tax increment financings, this year's share of the cash will amount to about $1.7 billion for five libraries, numerous bridges, 550 blocks of street and alley resurfacing, and 150 blocks of sidewalk replacement. The total program of $8.4 billion will also include $3.9 billion for construction at O'Hare and Midway airports.
Daley selected Quigley's Fifth District as the scene of the announcement for a host of reasons: the Milwaukee Avenue project he stood in front of will put $11.3 million into the Jefferson Park neighborhood this year; Daley was also able to tout next year's $20 million in street work at the nearby six corners intersection; and Quigley's constituents are in default on more than a quarter of their home mortgages due to job losses and other financial problems. Both politicians praised the fact that the projects will not only put people back to work and make much needed infrastructure improvements in the city, but also benefit the local business community by improving local travel and parking, putting the neighborhood businesses in a better competitive position.
"Infrastructure is good for the economy and good for jobs," Daley said. "All these improvements basically strengthen economic development, jobs here in the city, and it helps businesses, especially now with so many of our residents struggling financially." Quigley echoed Mayor Daley's sentiments: "They're putting food on the table, they're improving our infrastructure, and they're making a long term economic impact for all these businesses."
Projects announced for this year include: bridge repairs at Jackson Boulevard and the Chicago River, Halsted Street and the Chicago River, and Lawrence Avenue over the Kennedy Expressway; library construction at the West Town Branch, 1615 West Chicago Avenue, Greater Grand Crossing Branch at 1008 East 73d Street, and West Humboldt Park Branch at 727 North Kedzie. Daley's political genius can be seen in the fact that these projects - jobs for community residents, new bricks, mortar and asphalt pavement on display for all citizens to see - are as usual scattered geographically among the city's 50 wards. Contracts for those listed projects where the work will not be done directly by City of Chicago Department of Transportation crews will go to bid with provisions requiring the successful bidder to employ a certain percentage of its work force from among residents of zip codes in the very wards where the work will be done. The jobs won't come from the Daley machine, but they come from the policies of Daley's Public Building Commission requiring contractors to hire local workers - and this indirect patronage is not lost on the aldermen whose wards receive the Commission's blessing for major construction work.
Funded by a mixture of federal stimulus appropriations, state highway appropriations [yes, there are state highways inside the city] city bond issues and tax increment financings, this year's share of the cash will amount to about $1.7 billion for five libraries, numerous bridges, 550 blocks of street and alley resurfacing, and 150 blocks of sidewalk replacement. The total program of $8.4 billion will also include $3.9 billion for construction at O'Hare and Midway airports.
Daley selected Quigley's Fifth District as the scene of the announcement for a host of reasons: the Milwaukee Avenue project he stood in front of will put $11.3 million into the Jefferson Park neighborhood this year; Daley was also able to tout next year's $20 million in street work at the nearby six corners intersection; and Quigley's constituents are in default on more than a quarter of their home mortgages due to job losses and other financial problems. Both politicians praised the fact that the projects will not only put people back to work and make much needed infrastructure improvements in the city, but also benefit the local business community by improving local travel and parking, putting the neighborhood businesses in a better competitive position.
"Infrastructure is good for the economy and good for jobs," Daley said. "All these improvements basically strengthen economic development, jobs here in the city, and it helps businesses, especially now with so many of our residents struggling financially." Quigley echoed Mayor Daley's sentiments: "They're putting food on the table, they're improving our infrastructure, and they're making a long term economic impact for all these businesses."
Projects announced for this year include: bridge repairs at Jackson Boulevard and the Chicago River, Halsted Street and the Chicago River, and Lawrence Avenue over the Kennedy Expressway; library construction at the West Town Branch, 1615 West Chicago Avenue, Greater Grand Crossing Branch at 1008 East 73d Street, and West Humboldt Park Branch at 727 North Kedzie. Daley's political genius can be seen in the fact that these projects - jobs for community residents, new bricks, mortar and asphalt pavement on display for all citizens to see - are as usual scattered geographically among the city's 50 wards. Contracts for those listed projects where the work will not be done directly by City of Chicago Department of Transportation crews will go to bid with provisions requiring the successful bidder to employ a certain percentage of its work force from among residents of zip codes in the very wards where the work will be done. The jobs won't come from the Daley machine, but they come from the policies of Daley's Public Building Commission requiring contractors to hire local workers - and this indirect patronage is not lost on the aldermen whose wards receive the Commission's blessing for major construction work.
