In 10 years, close to 500,000 people will be living in the city center – an area bounded by the Stevenson Expressway, North Avenue, the lake, and Ashland Avenue or Halsted Street – according to the projections Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) has seen.
“Let’s think about where the parking is, where the congestion is,” he said to a crowd Tuesday evening at the Cassidy Theater at the Cultural Center. “Where is the transportation, the infrastructure?”
Fioretti and Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) spoke at Friends of Downtown’s New Alderman Forum, a panel discussion and Q&A with the newly elected leaders. As it turned out, most of the questions were about development.
Fioretti on what will happen if the 7 percent property tax cap isn’t reinstated:
“A trickle will become a flood, and an exodus of people will leave the city of Chicago.”
Reilly on the downtown congestion tax proposed by Ald. Ed Burke (14th):
“In order for that to be a pragmatic solution, you need to be well-funded…you need a solvent, reliable public transportation system, you need to give riders a viable alternative to driving.”
Fioretti on the homegenity of businesses moving into developing neighborhoods: “Retail all ends up being the same. We have a cleaners, we have some video store, and…And maybe we’re going to have a Starbucks or something along those lines. Well, that has to end.”
Reilly on listening to constituents’ voices:“That’s not anarchy, that’s democracy with a small ‘d’.”