This is a followup opportunity that just can't be ignored. Yesterday, I noted that JG Editorial Page Editor Tracy Warner, though enthusiastically supportive of the $17 million Renaissance Square extravagance, chastised the "usual suspects" on City Council for delaying work on the building at a whopping extra cost to the city of $11,000. The post also mentioned that the extra cost was but a fraction of the money the city planned to waste on a consulting term to teach officials how to best use social media. Now comes the JG editorial page in enthusiastic support of that waste:
The Chicago consultant wasn't hired to spruce up the city's Web page or make its Facebook profile more appealing, as opponents assumed when hearing about the contract. The city hired Carolyn Grisko & Associates to help analyze how the city can use social media to better interact with residents.
That can mean better informing residents, but it means much more, too. The greatest potential lies in giving residents more opportunities to give the city direct information.
And, of course, those "usual suspects" figure in this spending, too:
Yes, the mayor's city council opponents are criticizing the contract
