Fast forward three years, the bottom  has fallen out of the US economy, car  use is way down and Barron’s Magazine  estimates the road is worth US$1.5  billion at best.  No wonder Daniels told the magazine:  “It was the best deal since Manhattan  was sold for beads.”  He’s socked half a billion of the  windfall into a sort of Indiana Future  Fund, and the rest into one-time capital  works programs that can’t be hurting  his popularity, while MIG lists the toll  road as its worst-performing asset. 

Mayor Daley had his neighbour  front-of-mind when he went to see the  Aussie trustees in early April.  We’re told he may have casually  mentioned Chicago’s Midway Airport,  the attempted privatisation of which  was at that moment breaking down,  because a Citi-led consortium couldn’t  raise funds beyond a US$126 million  downpayment.  In any event, the trustees must have  resisted any attempts to loosen their  pursestrings, because the privatisation  collapsed before April was out. 

We wonder how Daley would have  described the deal in a couple of years, if  he’d gotten some Aussie investors over  the line and then stood back as air traffic  continued to tumble?  Best deal since Russia sold Alaska  to the Yanks for two cents an acre?  AUSCOAL employee  wins ‘P.A of the Year’  The ‘Great Place To Work’ Awards  got a bit of attention around the traps  last month, not least because Russell  Investments came third in Australia,  while HostPlus and AUSCOAL snuck  in to the Top 50.  But let it be known that AUSCOAL  also has Great Workers,  officially, after the Australian Institute  of Office Professionals named Janelle  Welsh, personal assistant to CEO  Bruce Watson, it’s ‘Office Professional of  the Year’ last month. 

The process involved an intensive  interview by an AIOP judging panel,  after which she was shortlisted as one of  three finalists before claiming the award  during a reception at Sydney’s Doltone  House on May 1.  “This award is fantastic recognition  for Janelle and for the hard work and  support she provides to the entire fund,”  Watson said afterwards.  “We are very proud of her ongoing  success, her commitment to AUSCOAL  and her inspirational work/life  balance.”  He’s not kidding about the last part.  Apart from working full time, Janelle  is married with two children – one of  whom has several disabilities – is currently  undertaking the AIOP Certificate  in Business Program at Charles  Sturt University, while also studying her  PS146 in Superannuation. Hats off,  Janelle.