"When you know Bigger, you GO BIGGER!" (8 of 10 Episodes)

NEW UPDATE "Capital Structures" - How the Renaissance Campus enables the Chicago Bears to build their proposed stadium in the Soldier Field South parking lot as a publicly owned regional transit hub.

Episode (10 of 10) - The Renaissance Campus capital stack strategically mixes public and private ownership to fund Chicago mega-projects without new taxpayer debt while avoiding major construction roadblocks. By having the Great Lakes Development Authority officially own the new stadium as a "publicly owned regional utility," the project gains legal immunity to block lawsuits from groups like Friends of the Parks who rely on lakefront protection rules to stop private developments. Conversely, keeping specific land acquisitions—like Justin Ishbia's purchase of the Amtrak Coach yard—privately owned allows the project to completely bypass years of strict federal environmental reviews, like NEPA. Ultimately, this financial design leverages public ownership for lawsuit protection and private capital for construction speed, ensuring these critical upgrades are built significantly faster.

"Fail to PLAN....PLAN to FAIL" Features and Benefits of the Sanders (Burnham 2.0) Plan (9 of 10 Episodes)

The Case for the Great Lakes Development Authority: We review plans to integrate (5) stadium development projects, a shared regional rail centric infrastructure program, a plan to pay for it all without federal funding or new local taxes, and discuss the politics of it all. We answer the question, "Why would I support this?" from a couple of different points of view.  We acknowledge the foundational work of Rick Harnish and the High Speed Rail Alliance who identified the power of unlocking the St Charles Air  Line aka: Cross Rail Chicago - to establish a true Midwest High Speed Rail network.

"When you know Bigger, you GO BIGGER!" (8 of 10 Episodes)

We explore PSC Chicago's newest proposal to merge the newly enacted Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) with the proposed Great Lakes Development Authority (GLDA) to form the Midwest version of the NY NJ Port Authority, with the power to drive economic growth in Illinois for the next 100 years.

"Go Big or Go Home, we CAN afford to do it" (7 of 10 Episodes): Updated financial analysis and discussion, the GLDA still makes sense if...

Today, we dive deep into PSC Chicago’s GLDA and Renaissance Campus, focusing on affordability given recent updates from key stakeholders including Governor Pritzker and the Chicago Bears. We also include local updates from Alderman Pat Dowell regarding her support for the "78" development proposed sports stadium, should it be the Chicago White Sox and or the Chicago Fire???

“How the GLDA and New Sports Stadiums enable Regional Transit Consolidation and Stabilization" (6 of 10 Episodes)

We explore the long range implications of the GLDA if enacted into law by the Illinois General Assembly. We Think Big(er) and review transit operations. We see an opportunity for Illinois State Supported "Amtrak Midwest" services to be locally managed and operated, setting the stage for surrounding states to join the self-funding GLDA resulting in a regional authority, driving powerful economic activity, re-establishing Chicago as a  global city and Illinois as the regional hub.