BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : OCTOBER 16, 2000 ISSUE
COVER STORY A Talk with Hizzoner Richard M. Daley, mayor of Chicago since 1989, has worked to curb a longstanding exodus of middle- and upper-income people to the city's suburbs. He has made improving education a top goal of his administration, winning kudos for halting the decline of the city's schools. The mayor spoke about the city's challenges with Chicago Bureau Manager Joseph Weber. Q: We've seen names like Ameritech and Morton and Illinois Central and Amoco getting swallowed up by outside companies, domestic and foreign. Why are so many of these Chicago-area companies targets instead of acquirers? A: I don't know. Maybe they wanted more money. The CEOs did very well. I don't run these companies. That's the capitalistic system. That's what goes on, whether you like it not. Q: Is there a cost to the city from that? A: I don't think so. You cannot tell people, ''Well, you can't sell it.'' I could never do that as mayor. Q: The Chicago Board of Trade is not No. 1 in futures any more. A European exchange is. And there's a lot of competitive pressure on the others. Is that worrisome to you? A: You have the Chicago Stock Exchange, which is very technology-friendly. Look at how fast-growing they are. You put the [Board of] Options and the Merc and the Board of Trade together, they're very substantial. They're great traders and they're risk-takers. I have confidence [in them.] Chicago is changing. We had the stockyards. We had steel. You constantly change, and you've got to be very flexible. We're one of the few cities that have a Ford plant coming in. That's very substantial. So we know how to expand manufacturing. We're on the cutting edge constantly. The business community is very strong here. Things do change every 20 years. You can't keep something intact and think that's (the way) it's going to be. The business community is changing drastically. We see it not only throughout this country but throughout the world. Q: What about the banks? Chicago used to be the home of major banks. A: Yes, but the banking industry has changed. You go to any city, it's changing. The whole financial industry has changed. Q: It's not worrisome to you that a lot of banks here are controlled by people in Europe and Canada? A: No. I can't pass a federal law and say you can't buy something. This is globalization. They've become very good corporate citizens. Q: You're pretty confident that, if anything, the city is moving up? A: Yes, I've lived here all my life, and we've seen that every city goes through transitions. This city has always had strength. It's very diversified. We're not dependent on one industry, and that's its strength. Q: What are you proudest of? A: Education. That's extremely important to the business community. It's important to the students and the children of Chicago and to the parents. So it's the only priority we've had in this city. We have committed over $2.5 billion in local money to improve the schools, repair, remodel, build new schools. No other city has done that in the nation. We know what our priority is, and what the problem is. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Chicago Blues COVER IMAGE: Chicago Blues CHART: Chicago Loses Ground in Financial-Services Jobs... TABLE: Chicago-Based Companies Lose Out in the Merger Frenzy TABLE: What They're Saying about Their Kind of Town A Talk with Hizzoner INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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