Mayor Rahm Emanuel presides over the City Council meeting in Chicago on Oct. 21, 2015. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Tribune quoted Michael Pagano, GCI Fellow and Dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, on the “opportunity cost” of the City of Chicago’s use of taxable debt to finance long-term projects.
“What that (the use of taxable debt) tells me is that the city has few unused resources — meaning reserves — but that it also has needs that it has to address right away,” said Michael Pagano, dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.
“Over the next 20 years, the additional payment you’re going to be making means that money is not going to be available to do other things. So there’s an opportunity cost.”
