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Mayor Emanuel, for his part, said he had a “very good meeting” with his Toronto counterpart in which they discussed “shared opportunities” and ways to learn from each other.

More than 60 business leaders, eight city councillors and a handful of city staff joined Mayor Ford on the “Team Toronto” two-day business trip to Chicago, his first since taking office. With the value of trade missions sometimes hard to quantify, delegates insisted the face-to-face encounters are more than just a junket. The event has not garnered a lot of local attention, although The Wall Street Journal noted that Toronto’s “colourful mayor” was in Chicago to bolster ties.

The mayor, who was once critical of taxpayer-funded trips, continued to declare the mission would not cost taxpayers — even in the face of evidence that it will. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m paying for my own trip. It’s not costing the taxpayers a dime,” he said.

Business delegates are footing their own bill and their registration fees will cover the cost of organizing the event, said Councillor Peter Milczyn. But city staff will have their expenses covered by the city, he said; several councillors also said they did not intend to pay out of their own pocket for a business trip.

“You guys should be focusing on the fact that we’re here to promote jobs,” said Councillor Milczyn. “We had a paving contractor from Toronto who scored a meeting with the Illinois governor to talk about new paving technologies that could bring millions of dollars of business to a Toronto company doing business in Illinois. That’s what this is for.”