In 2008, Chicago made a financial move that still haunts the city. The city, under the leadership of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, sold off the rights to its parking meter revenue for $1.15 billion, a deal that’s been widely criticized as one of the worst financial decisions in the city’s history. The sale of these rights to Chicago Parking Meters LLC, a group with investors from the UAE, has proven disastrous for taxpayers. In exchange for the immediate cash, Chicago locked itself into a 75-year agreement, meaning that all revenue from the city’s 36,000 parking meters will go straight to Dubai until 2083.