Daley: $16 million to promote tourism is worth it
Mayor backs Quinn in funding clash with gov's rival Hynes
Can Illinois afford to spend $16 million to promote tourism and economic development when it has a mountain of unpaid bills from health care providers?
Mayor Daley believes it can — and should. He’s siding with Gov. Quinn in a dispute over tourism spending with Quinn’s Democratic primary rival, state Comptroller Dan Hynes.
(Sun-Times photos)
PHOTO GALLERY
Chicago's top tourist attractions
Top 10 Chicago-area sightseeing attractions for 2008*
1. Navy Pier
2. Millennium Park
3. Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co.
4. Lincoln Park Zoo
5. Six Flags Great America
6. Brookfield Zoo
7. Willis Tower Skydeck
8. Morton Arboretum
9. Chicago Botanic Garden
10. John Hancock Observatory
Source: Crain's Chicago Business
Top 10 Chicago-area cultural attractions for 2008
1. John G. Shedd Aquarium
2. Art Institute
3. Museum of Science and Industry
4. Field Museum of Natural History
5. Chicago Cultural Center
6. Chicago Children's Museum
7. Chicago Architecture Foundation
8. Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum
9. Kohl Children's Museum
10. DuPage Children's Museum
In 2008, Illinois welcomed nearly 88 million domestic visitors -- 20 million for business and 67.8 million for leisure.
The top nine states providing visitors to Illinois:
1. Wisconsin
2. Indiana
3. Michigan
4. Missouri
5. Ohio
6. Iowa
7. California
8. Georgia
9. Minnesota
10. Texas
Top 12 sources of international travelers to Illinois in 2008
1. Canada
2. United Kingdom
3. Mexico
4. Japan
5. Germany
6. France
7. Brazil
8. Netherlands
9. India
10. Italy
11. China
12. South Korea
“We’re competing against Atlanta. We’re competing against Las Vegas and Orlando. You have to put packages together to get the conventions here. At the same time, you have to publicize. You have to do marketing worldwide and throughout the United States,” the mayor said.
“You just can’t sit back and say, ‘They’re gonna come to the city of Chicago.’ It doesn’t work that way. Gov. Quinn has realized that — that you have to do more marketing outside of Illinois. You have to do more marketing outside the United States. Then, you have to really work to get the conventions here because other cities are working trying to get conventions to their cities.”
Last week, Hynes sent a letter to Quinn to inform the governor of the comptroller’s decision to suspend payment on more than $40 million worth of contracts, $16 million of it to promote tourism and economic development in Illinois.
The comptroller argued that “business as usual” could not be tolerated “while health-care providers suspend or curtail services” and while state financial support to public schools is “jeopardized” by the state’s financial crisis.
“I have directed my staff to suspend payment on these contracts until your office communicates your intentions regarding these transactions,” Hynes wrote.
After sending the letter, Hynes appeared to throw the ball in Quinn’s court. The comptroller said he would make the tourism payments, only if the governor ordered him to do so.
Today, Hynes got his answer — and an emphatic one.
Flanked by business and union leaders, Quinn and Daley held a news conference at Navy Pier to highlight the importance of the convention and tourism industries to the state and local economy.
Asked how he felt about Hynes’ threat to cut off the financial spigot, Daley said, “If you start cutting money off — say if we had a major, major layoff in that industry — you’re talking about a couple hundred thousand people. Where are they gonna go to work?”
Warning that Chicago’s unemployment rate would double without conventions and tourism, the mayor said, “From the Greyhound to the railroads to the airport to the cabs to the buses, rental cars, limousines, all these restaurants — that’s an enormous amount of money. You just can’t cut it off.”
Quinn questioned the legality of Hynes’ decision. He noted that hotel taxes are dedicated to convention- and tourism-related spending.
“Cabdrivers, folks who work in restaurants, folks who work in hotels — they’re not multi-millionaires. They’re just the heart and soul of Illinois. They’re the people who do the hard jobs. They live from paycheck to paycheck. It’s very, very short-sighted for anyone in government — no matter who they are — to try and hurt their job,” he said.
“We’re not gonna let that happen. … As long as I’m governor, we’re gonna make sure that everybody in the world knows about Illinois and Chicago. … We’re not gonna have short-sighted political approaches to something as important as our economy.”
The governor scoffed at Hynes’ claim that he would make the payments, only if ordered to do so.
“I took an oath of office to be governor of Illinois. He took an oath of office to be comptroller of Illinois. My view is, follow the law. Follow the constitution. Do your job. He doesn’t need a direction from anyone — other than his conscience to do his job,” Quinn said.
A Hynes spokesman said it was Quinn's decision whether to spend the money on "consultant and marketing contracts, or ... education and health care."
"The choice was his," the spokesman said. "If the governor believes that tourism contracts are a priority, then he should resubmit them and they will be paid."
Hotel prices dropped 22 percent in Chicago and 17 percent nationally in the first half of the year from a year earlier, according to a report from Hotels.com.
The average price in Chicago was $135 a night, and the average nationally was $115.
Chicago ranked as the eighth most expensive U.S. market but had the third-largest price drop. New York ranked as the most expensive market and joined Las Vegas in having the nation’s greatest drop in room rates, with prices falling 30 percent in both cities.
Francine Knowles
Highest prices in the first half of 2009 across slect U.S. cities:
| CITY | AVG. PRICE PER ROOM | PERCENT CHANGE |
| New York | $196 | -30% |
| Washington | $182 | -11% |
| Boston | $157 | -16% |
| Honolulu | $157 | -18% |
| Panama City, Fla. | $154 | -7% |
| Naples, Fla. | $146 | -16% |
| Miami | $140 | -21% |
| Palm Springs, Calif. | $136 | -12% |
| Chicago | $135 | -22% |
| Seattle | $131 | -13% |
| West Palm Beach, Fla. | $130 | -19% |
| Anchorage | $130 | -22% |