Is Chicago's "Tourist Bubble" Worth It?

As Anne Moore stated in her article “Tourism and Conventions” in the Encyclopedia of Chicago, “Always a place of commerce and spectacle, Chicago from its infancy played host to major conventions and to individual travelers.”  Chicago is known for its tourism and attractions.  However, with such an emphasis on tourism, even historically, it makes me wonder if the city could’ve been spending their money on better resources.  Not only that, but if their recent endeavors, such as Millennium Park are worth the millions the city has spent. 

Tourism in Chicago used to be limited to honeymooners, and other domestic travelers, however since the early 1990s, Chicago’s tourism has boomed.  As Moore states, “The increase in domestic and international tourists had a major economic impact on Chicago in the 1990s, causing a boom in hotel building, restaurant openings, and services geared to travelers.”  According to Moore, and I’m sure most economists and financial consultants in Chicago, tourism has helped Chicago in its finances in a great way, hence more tourist spots being built and added.  However, I have to ask how does a place, like Millennium Park with pieces of artwork and large areas of gardens and walkways, bring in money?  Obviously there are hotels and fast food places surrounding the area, but the actual area of Millennium Park does not house any businesses, other than the Music Pavilion (which often has free concerts).  If Chicago was going to spend money on tourist attractions, shouldn’t they spend it on businesses and attractions that will provide the city with more of an income?  Not only that but wouldn’t the millions of dollars spend on Millennium Park be better spent on social programs, education, or businesses needed/wanted by the population of Chicago?  I feel that with the minimal amount of money Chicago already has, they should not be spending it frivolously on attractions for visitors, they should be taking care of the population that already resides in the city.  This doesn’t mean that they can’t invest in building new buildings or parks, but find a way to bring new jobs or income from these new places.  For instance, instead of building a large park for all to see (that brings in no income and brings about no new jobs), build an amusement park, a new museum, a new shopping center, a water park, something that will fill that tourist need, but also bring about new jobs and an income for the city to spend on its residents.  When a family is on a budget, they don’t set aside money for a huge vacation to Hawaii, they put what money they do have into their children’s futures, into their homes, into their health and well-being.   A city under such a big budget crunch should learn to do the same, spend money on public schools, on health facilities, on building new jobs, not on finding new places to bring in tourists and make the city look pretty.