Day: November 26, 2014

$224 Million Thanksgiving Eve Binge by Pat Quinn! – WP Original

November 26, 2014 No Comments

By: Mark Glennon* Prepare to get sick. Late today, in nine separate press releases, Governor Pat Quinn announced spending totaling $223.7 million from the infamous “Jobs Now” program passed in 2009 that was justified as stimulus for the Illinois economy at the depth of the recession. Today’s press releases are linked here. While most of the spending under the program has been for legitimate capital projects, Jobs Now has been highly controversial from the start. It was not used as stimulus during the recession, and much of it was spent on projects widely regarded as pork. Earlier spending has included

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New Jersey Comes Clean on Pension Numbers; Will Illinois? – WP Original

November 26, 2014 2 Comments

By: Mark Glennon*   “Our state pensions are really only 33% funded, not 54% as we have been telling you.” That’s a pretty fair summary of what New Jersey officially said yesterday to its potential bond buyers. Adding in two large local pensions, the funded ratio dropped from 63% to 44%.   The statement was made in the form of a short, clear supplement to an Official Statement for a pending sale of New Jersey general obligation bonds. That supplement is linked here, and an article about it from Pensions & Investments is linked here. An Official Statement is the

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Judge orders city to leave proposed Lucas Museum site unaltered – Early & Often

November 26, 2014 No Comments

A federal judge ordered the city not to physically alter the proposed site of The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art until further order of the court during the opening legal battle between the city and opponents of the museum. http://politics.suntimes.com/article/chicago/judge-orders-city-leave-proposed-lucas-museum-site-unaltered/tue-11252014-1039am?dm_i=2JCP,3448,2L10QW,6E6H,1

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Malpractice in Journalism at NBC-5 – WP Original

November 26, 2014 No Comments

By: Mark Glennon*   Do Chicago journalists need to make stuff up to do a juicy story about political criminality, greed, and conflicts of interest? At NBC-5, apparently so.   Let’s start with a few whoppers by its reporter, Mark Anderson, in an article last week.  The story was about supposed violations by some investment managers of pay-to-play rules because of campaign contributions allegedly made to Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Rauner:   • Rahm, says Mr. Anderson, “breaks the law by financing his re-election campaign with contributions from firms” doing business with the city.   Fact: Nonsense. There’s nothing in

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