Ald. Brendan Reilly was on target when he said that Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s attempt to rush the complex casino deal through the City Council raised the ignominious specter of the infamous parking meter deal, in which a flawed proposal that falsely promised financial salvation was rammed through the City Council with little transparency and even less debate.

I don’t know what is worse: the secretive process through which the mayor made her selection, the anti-democratic push for council approval or the mayor pretending the casino will enable the city to address its pension funding crisis.

The fact remains that the largely secretive selection process has resulted in the license being awarded to the least experienced operator, at a location in need of massive infrastructure upgrades and in a community where the majority of local residents oppose its location.