Under a deal approved Thursday by a 40-5 City Council vote, the cost to park at two-thirds of the meters in Chicago will quadruple next month. Neighborhood spots that cost a quarter an hour will cost $1 an hour and will increase to $2 an hour by 2013. The top meter rates in the Loop will go from $3 an hour to $6.50 within five years.

My quick math tells me that $20m annual income x 75 years = $1.5b. The $1.2b lump sum is 20% less cash over the term of the contract, even if the city never raised the cost of parking or added any meters over that time.

Does anybody else wonder how much of this lump sum of cash will be swindled allocated for Daley's 2016 Olympics, if Chicago is selected?

And, does anybody else notice that the city of Chicago is hemmoraging assets such as the Skyway, Midway Airport, parking garages and now public parking meters, to cover its ass for years of mismanagement, from pension funds to public transportation? But you know, the city voted for a dead guy as county board president. Nothing surprises me.