How do you sleep at night? That’s the question Chicagoans should be asking the private investors behind the city’s infamous parking meter lease deal — a group that may soon squeeze another $15.5 million out of taxpayers, not for broken meters or breached contracts, but because former Mayor Lori Lightfoot dared to suspend parking enforcement during a public health emergency.
In the early, uncertain days of COVID-19, when people were told to stay home to save lives, Lightfoot chose compassion over citations. She told Chicagoans that tickets would be issued only for safety reasons. At a March 18, 2020, news conference, Lightfoot made it clear: parking at an expired meter wasn’t a public safety threat. Still, she said, drivers were expected to keep paying the meters.
Chicago Parking Meters LLC, the private entity that’s already made billions off its deal with the city, sued her for the loss in income…