September 12, 2016 | Wirepoints

Day: September 12, 2016

Should a Trustee of an Underwater Pension Cut Payouts Now to Save for Future Claims? – Wirepoints

September 12, 2016 17 Comments

By: Mark Glennon* It’s a question several readers have asked in various ways, so let me take a crack at it. To illustrate the issue most clearly, think of a worker or new retiree in one of the worst funded of the hundreds of police and firefighter pensions in Illinois, in a muncipality that’s also sinking fast: I’m retiring soon and my pension is bleeding down to zero. The pension continues to pay out full amounts due to those already retired. Shouldn’t they be saving at least something for me? Aren’t the trustees supposed to be fiduciaries for me, too?

Grand jury to probe alleged cover-up by Chicago cops in Laquan McDonald case – USA Today

September 12, 2016 No Comments

Nuclear power giant Exelon touts a subsidy for coal-fired plants – Crain’s

September 12, 2016 No Comments

Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power generator and a frequent critic of its peers that burn coal, has floated a plan that would raise electricity prices in downstate Illinois and potentially keep open several coal-fired plants slated for closure.

Black, Hispanic aldermen block $3.5B O’Hare bond issue – Chicago Sun-Times

September 12, 2016 No Comments

In a rare show of force, the City Council’s Black, Hispanic and Progressive caucuses joined forces Friday to block Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to issue $3.5 billion in bonds to bankroll O’Hare Airport projects amid concerns about minority participation.

Report: Chicago’s West Side is ‘Epicenter’ of Heroin Crisis in Illinois – WTTW

September 12, 2016 No Comments

“The drug crisis in the suburbs ends when we help the West Side of Chicago and end the flow of drugs on the streets. “To continue to ignore the West Side of Chicago is like a firefighter putting out a fire in part of the house, and then leaving the house burning.”

Rauner, Illinois Republicans Are Pouring Big Bucks Into State Races – Progress Illinois

September 12, 2016 No Comments

Comment: Good. And please budget more for a better communications operation.

‘Black Students for Revolution’ hold rally at U of Illinois – CampusReform

September 12, 2016 No Comments

Among their “demands”: an end to its “system of tuition-peonage, abolishing “strongholds of male power,” racial hiring and enrollment quotas, minimum wage hikes, no tuition hides and housing subsidies for LGBT students.

Illinois Struggling To Pay For Public Schools – IRN

September 12, 2016 1 Comment

Over 60 percent of the districts in Illinois contain just 14 percent of the state’s overall students. Put another way, the 511 school districts in question serve an average of 526 students. On the other hand, more than three-fourths of Illinois’ 872 superintendents earn six-figure salaries, and 320 of Illinois school district administrators, mostly district superintendents, are awarded annual incomes of $200,000 or more.

Second Financial Economics Paper Out – Burypensions

September 12, 2016 No Comments

Comment: Most readers here wouldn’t find the content of the papers very interesting because it’s highly academic. What’s significant here is the effort by the establishment to fight the reformers who want more honest pension reporting.

The Black Body Count Rises as Chicago Police Step Back – Wall Street Journal

September 12, 2016 No Comments

“There is no way out of this shooting spree,” said the president of the Chicago police union. His despair is understandable, because Chicago is the country’s most-glaring example of what I have called the “Ferguson effect.” Chicago officers have cut back drastically on proactive policing under the onslaught of criticism from the Black Lives Matter movement and its political and media enablers.