Linking Public Works to Local Hiring Faces a Trump Challenge

When the Chicago Transit Authority chose a Chinese joint venture to build the city a new fleet of rail cars for $1.3 billion, the manufacturer’s vow to construct an assembly plant on the Southeast Side helped tilt the scale in its favor.

“This is a classic win-win for Chicago,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said last year when he announced the contract and the 170 jobs that the factory would create, in addition to training programs and community hiring.