Mayor Richard Daley said Wednesday he will not push forward with a second attempt to privatize Midway Airport during the remainder this term, which ends next May.

“We’re not going to move on it,” Daley told the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board during a discussion of his proposed 2011 budget. “It will be up to the [next] mayor to make that decision.”

The mayor has pursued the idea as a way to bring a revenue windfall into city coffers, as happened with the outsourcing of parking meters and the long-term lease of the Chicago Skyway. But a proposed deal to lease Midway for 99 years for $2.5 billion fell through last year when the investors could not secure funding.

And in recent months, Daley has told reporters that leasing the airport doesn’t make sense because the lousy economy would prevent the city from getting a good price.

The city, which has a slot for Midway in a federal pilot project to test airport privatization, has received four extensions from the Federal Aviation Administration to line up investors.

Now, it appears it will need to seek further extensions.

Asked about his decision to hold off on the project, Daley said, “I don’t want to put a burden on the next mayor immediately and have [the media] say Mayor Daley shoved this through.”

“So, let’s be calm and reflective and find out what the value is,” he said. “The value will increase, remember that, as the economy gets a little better.”