-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Nine of the state’s 102 counties reported no COVID-19 infections as of Saturday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. That does not mean the rural communities have been spared the pain. Hospital workers’ hours have been reduced, small businesses have closed and farmers are taking losses on their crops and livestock. And in small towns, that has big consequences.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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