On WFLD's Good Day Chicago this morning, Ald. Tom Allen (38th Ward) discussed his proposal to slow down City Council consideration of future asset sale proposals.  "I think we're acting too quickly," he said.  "These aren't our assets. They're not Mayor Daley's parking meters. They're not Ald. Allen's parking meters or airport.  These are the taxpayers'." He went on to assert that the collapse of the deal to lease Midway Airport for 99 years was "a blessing in disguise." Watch it:

Last October, Allen and his fellow aldermen voted 49-0 to approve the Midway deal after being given "barely a week" to review the fine print. Despite his vote in favor of it, Allen did express some reservations at the time:

[A]s 39th Ward alderman Thomas Allen pointed out at last Monday’s council hearing, the city probably could have gotten a better deal had it waited out the national financial crisis. “All the talking heads are saying, ‘Watch out, don’t sell, hold on, things are going to get better,’” said Allen. “We are the guardians of the people’s assets. I’m concerned that we’re not getting what we could get. What’s the urgency?”

As Allen says in the above clip, he and others on the council "learned" a lesson in the month since, noting that the parking meter debacle was "our fault." This is a good sign.  Of course, the true test will be the next time the Daley administration takes them aside to push for another quick deal.