Chicago is at a turning point; businesses leaving.

0:00 Speaker 1 With us today is John Candunas, a good friend that was a New Yorker. He moved to Chicago a few years ago, which is his hometown originally, and he became president of the Colamos and CEO of the Colamos Funds, a big mutual fund in Chicago. And recently there’s been reports a lot of companies are moving out of Chicago

0:24 because of the new mayor. And I wanted to get the pulse of the situation. John wish he was still in New York so we could have dinner. But how are you doing.

0:38 Speaker 2 I’m doing okay. Good to task for you, John tell.

0:41 Speaker 1 Us there’s been reports a lot of companies are looking to move out of Chicago because of the crime wave like we have in New York. In New York, by the way, John, in case you don’t know the numbers, in the last twelve months, four hundred and eighty four thousand people have moved out of New York and the

1:01 exodus continues. To give us the pulse of what’s going on in Chicago.

1:08 Speaker 2 Well, unfortunately, I don’t think it’s any different than what you’re seeing in New York. There’s a lot of different reasons that it’s not just now with the new mayor, because you know, the new mayor hasn’t been in the seat that long. Although the rhetoric coming from the office is probably it’s definitely not positive, but it’s it’s been

1:30 our previous administration and for the last few years. There’s money goes where it’s treated best. That’s what our founder, Choan Catamost always says. And the reality is people go where they’re treated best. And crime has been the number one issue for sure. Yes, texts are high, Yes it’s you know, sometimes difficult to do business, but that’s not

1:54 the reason why. You know, people like Bowing Catapiullary, Tyson Foods, Citadel, which has been a real issue, a big, big tax player in the city. And actually I was at a dinner with Ken Griffin in Miami a week after he announced that he was leaving Chicago, and it wasn’t because of anything else, accumulation of everything, but crime was definitely

2:24 the number one issue. He was scared for not just himself, but more for his employees. And that’s and that’s been a big, big problem and continues to be.

2:35 Speaker 1 Now what other companies have been considering moving, I mean, does have they made any formal announcements.

2:45 Speaker 2 No, but in the news as of as earlier as this morning, you know you’re hearing Kerry Duffy, who’s the CEO of the Chicago Mercantil Exchange, threatening to perhaps leave because of some of the proposals that the new player is putting on. And if if you’ll love me a little bit of a couple of minutes to talk about

3:10 some of the things that are being proposed, you can see why he’ll be the only one. Okay. So, for instance, he was the big proponent of defunding the police, and that’s something that you know, it doesn’t make sense when you’re looking at in general. This year all acrowtment is up forty two percent. Since twenty one, it’s up ninety percent.

3:35 I mean, you know, the worst are the carjackings in their vehicle tests that are over two hundred percent to twenty twenty one. To think about nine percent more out of the budget. We were already down over twelve hundred police officers, and they don’t even want to consider to fill those seats that they need to do. Another thing

4:01 in that realm is that they want to take away the shot cameras, which are I don’t know if you’re familiar with them. There’s like devices to pick up shootings, the noise and then the cameras go on, which has proven to to have the police go to the incidents and capture the crimes. It goes from eight minutes without

4:27 that on a nine to one one call to thirty seconds of being able to get to the situation and and and put these people behind bars. Now, the biggest problem we have is not the police that they aren’t doing their jobs. They aren’t doing their jobs. They’re doing a great job. But you know, we have similar problem

4:47 with New York does where our State’s attorney will not prosecute anybody. So these people are out and if you look at the repeat offenders, it’s through it’s through the moon, I mean. And that that’s the biggest problem. One is helping the police be captured, you know, take care of the crime. But then you know, what do you do

5:08 when you know most of these people are repeat offenders because the state’s attorney doesn’t want to put anybody behind balls. And you know you’re seeing that New York City too.

5:19 Speaker 1 I’m working with the New York State Merchants people because they represent thirty two hundred merchants and a lot of them are starting to move. You go up and down New York right now on all the avenues, half the stores are empty, and I’m not sure those people ever coming back.

5:39 Speaker 2 Well, you know, the other proposals that the new Maria wants to do, and there’s been trying, you know, people are holding his feet to to make good on his campaign promises, and especially the people that supported him are you know, things like head tax, where if you have a company that’s over forty people in the Chicago, it’s

5:58 at the additional thirty three dollars per month for them. Then there’s other taxes like a three and a half percent on any household of income over one hundred grand. I mean, who want to stay in the city. They’re even trying to go out to airlines and jet fuel.

6:15 They want to raise you know, up to fourteen cents more pre downant for jet fuel for the airlines to pay for the pollution that they created in the city. And where’s why you supposed you’re going to go exactly.

6:29 And then also you know there’s another proposal was raising them like what they call the mansion tax by another one point nine percent. You know, they’re trying to get money. Which are things that oh you’re like this one one of the ones that I was reading to do, which is as a landlord, as you are tax on luxury

6:49 apartment vacancies. All right, So you have an issue because if you’re an owner of a building an apartment, people that may not want to be in a city anymore because of the crime or the high taxes. If you have units a few like three units and buildings, and if you want more than twenty units that are vacant

7:10 for over twelve months because you can’t rent them, you have to pay the equivalent of rent to the city because you can’t you know, you can’t rent the things. How does that at all incentivize how do you pay.

7:24 Speaker 1 Rent in the city when you have no income.

7:27 Speaker 2 Coming in exactly? How does that ever centivize anybody to actually for to jestate. So, I mean, all these proposals, here’s the thing. A lot of them are proposals. Let’s see what the mayor gets done. Some of these are actually you know, I know, they wanted to put a up to two dollars transaction costs for the CMEME for

7:52 every transaction with which would create a couple billion dollars with the revenue a year. The reality is Chicago and how the Jews stitch you to do that. The only people that can do that are at the state and the federal level. So a lot of it is rhetoric to play Kate his constituency, but the fact is he

8:17 can’t get that done. I mean, it’s illegal. So the reality is, let’s see what actually happens, what is passed, what you know, what is is is going to happen. But I’m afraid we might have to hit rock bottom before we get any any kind of change here.

8:37 Speaker 1 Well we’re in trouble. Well, John, please keep us informed and what’s going on in Chicago workers and we got to save our country and got to save our cities. And thank you so much, John can do this President, CEO of the kin of most funds of a major a major mutual fund stationed in in Chicago.

9:04 Speaker 2 Thank you so much, Thank you, John, appreciate it.