Moseley Braun Declares War on Parking Meter Deal

Mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun is going after a popular political whipping boy during the election season -- the city's parking meter deal.

Moseley Braun held a news conference Monday morning to announce her opposition to the deal, and her plan to get the city out of it.

"We were snookered and not given proper information," Moseley Braun said.

Asked how she would get the contract cancelled, Moseley Braun said "you sue them all," and that "there is case book law up the wazoo."

"We can do this. It won't take anything extraordinary," Moseley Braun said. "If you're going to lease, you have to have shorter years ... We have to use ever lever we have to undo this."

Braun insisted she wasn't "giving out false hope," and rattled off her resume as proof she can get it done.

Mayoral candidate Miguel del Valle has also spoken out against the parking deal, promising the city will file a suit to get it undone if he's elected.

The 75-year, $1.15 billion privatization plan was approved by the City Council in December 2008.

On Jan. 1, parking rates in the Loop and the Central Business District were increased a full $2 more than they were three years ago. Meters in the Loop cost $5 per hour and in the CBD, they're $3 per hour.

In Chicago's neighborhoods, the meters jumped another quarter, to $1.50 per hour.

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