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Well politics has never been Chicago’s strong suit

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LOL .... does not the political/thug/union machine control EVERYTHING in that city ??

Highest sales tax in the country, I believe .. and of course, highest murder rate... crumbling infrastructure... billions and billions in unending debt .. heard they’re selling municipal buildings .. attractions .. for the naming rights .. just to put some $$ in the kitty, they’re so broke.

Now you know why getting the Olympics is virtually a financial necessity, and the messiah is carrying the ball to a potential touchdown.

You think that makes a world class city?? Maybe on on the surface .. visually, it’s striking. I would imagine folks who are residents, whose backs are being broken by the increasing taxes on everything in a bad economy already, and the overarching control and indifference of Daley and his machine to the citizens’ outrage have a vastly different view.

Just looked this up ... conventions provide vital funds to any city .. I did them a lot. There’s stiff competition for them, and Chicago used to be huge. Their business is way way down:

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Chicago’s convention and meetings business is crucial to the city’s hotel market, accounting for as much as half of the business for some big downtown hotels. With business travel in steep decline and convention attendance down, Orlando, Las Vegas, Chicago and smaller cities are all stepping up efforts to bring in more meetings.

“During the good times, the big dogs compete against the big dogs. In the bad times, Vegas is competing against Memphis,” says Rob Hunden, president of Chicago-based Hunden Strategic Partners Inc., a hotel and convention industry consulting firm. “Everybody seems to have newer and better convention centers, so you’ve got to compete at all levels.”

The city’s biggest meeting of the year, the National Restaurant Assn. show, drew 54,000 people in May, a 24% decline from 2008. The local hotel occupancy rate will fall to 58.6% this year from 63.8% in 2008, according to Atlanta-based PKF Hospitality Research.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35204

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Chicago’s tourism budget a straggler
By: Kate Ryan June 05, 2006

Amid a spate of convention defections, the agency charged with bringing trade shows to Chicago is finding itself outgunned — and outspent — by its competitors.

The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau’s (CCTB) annual budget of $14.5 million pales in comparison to rival Orlando, Fla.’s $40.8 million, according to a study by CCTB and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. About half CCTB’s budget goes toward convention sales and marketing.

The tourism bureau for the nation’s top convention-hosting city, Las Vegas, has an annual budget of $227.8 million, although that includes funding for the city’s convention centers.

Even combining CCTB’s budget with the operating expenses of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (McPier), the agency that runs McCormick Place and Navy Pier, Chicago tourism authorities still spend 17% less than their counterparts in Las Vegas.

Chicago has fallen behind both Las Vegas and Orlando in hosting big conventions, according to Tradeshow Week magazine. In all, eight cities’ bureaus have budgets topping Chicago’s, the study says.

“It’s obvious that if people can outspend you, they will create more opportunities” to win business, says Greg Saunders, CCTB chairman and general manager of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

CCTB is funded by a percentage of Chicago’s hotel tax, Illinois grant money for development of local conventions and tourism, membership dues and grant money from McPier.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=20859

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Conventions provide a great infusion of cash for any city, but Chicago’s highest sales tax in the country, the economy and the push to keep conventions closer to ‘home,’ cause a loss of the billions, typically spread around to hotels, restaurants, and the TAX BASE of the city.

And if you’re in charge of writing a contract for a business convention and getting the best deal, why would you willingly pay extra tens of thousands of dollars
due to a city’s exorbitant sales tax, when you can go to Orlando or Memphis without the usurious taxes for that much less?

Maybe once world class city in which to live .. now a good weekend destination.