Is Chicago’s “tourist bubble” worth it?

This is a very difficult question because I cannot even fathom having that much money to be able to use in the first place…but I have kind of mixed feelings on this topic. Outsiders and residents of Chicago are always complaining on how the Chicago public school system is behind national achievements or how it could be better or that people are moving out of certain areas to go to a better school. Shouldn’t that money be used for our young peoples education?? On the other hand, Kovol points out from the Chicago convention and tourism bureau, in 2002, “Chicago remained first as a domestic business-travel destination, eighth for domestic leisure travel, and fourth for total domestic travel” (p.298). This shows that all the money that is being used for touristic spots are actually benefitting the city of Chicago, mostly through tourism and consumption. Isn’t that what most people want out of their cities is for travelers to come visit and consume? By using millions of dollars on building up things like Millennium Park or Grant Park, city officials are creating places for touristic events to take place and in turn create revenue.

In my opinion, I believe that certain parks are good for Chicago in terms of tourism and in terms of just making the city a better place to live in for the people of Chicago. But I do believe that there are much more important ways that any big city could spend their money on to improve ones living conditions besides spending millions on something like entertainment. I think the most important thing right now to use money on that will affect cities and how people live their lives forever to come is education. If education is shown to be the most important or a top priority than I think more students would take it seriously and not think that officials and leaders don’t care about it because of how their spending their money, and in turn think than why should I? “The city of leisure and entertainment, aimed at attracting locals and visitors, has caused a reorganization of planning policies and priorities” (p.296). Now back to the original prompt question, is this worth it? Overall, I think more of this money needs to be spent on things that will benefit our city and residents of the city for the long run.