Congratulations to the City of Chicago on being awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics. Let the building begin!!
Chicago is planning fewer permanent facilities than previous games, but still has a venue-construction budget around $1 billion and another $1 billion on the Olympic Village. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Athens was three times over budget; London is four times over budget; Vancouver has needed a government cash infusion of $110 million and has almost drained a $100-million contingency fund, which is bigger than Chicago's $82-million reserve. “Millennium” Park, intended to celebrate the new millennium in 2000, wasn’t completed until 2004 and was four times over budget. Good trends if you are a contractor.
WHAT THE???? NO OLYMPICS IN CHICAGO?!?! Oh well, you still need a contractor’s license to be a general contractor in the city:
If you are interested in getting in on some of the contracting action, you need to know that there is a general contractor’s license requirement to build within the city limits. The local state’s attorney is cracking down on unlicensed contractors and no one expects that trend to stop prior to the Olympics. While the penalties for unlicensed contractors in Chicago are not as harsh as in California, for example, you can guarantee that local contractors will be using this licensing mechanism to protect their turf.
Chicago for years did not have a licensing regime. But after a few high profile construction incidents, it now requires general contractors to be registered annually. Despite the fanfare of its introduction, the licensing process appears to me more like a revenue enhancer for the city as opposed to public protection: there are no experience or testing requirements. But do you really care why the city has a licensing requirement? I’ll leave that to the politicians.
Contact me if you need assistance getting a Chicago general contractors license. If you want to join in the Olympic BORING OLD REGULAR buildfest, start getting yours now.
Comments