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The county also plans to use about $77 million from existing reserves to help balance the budget. The county's chief financial officer said the county currently has about $400 million in reserves. (Read the full Cook County Executive Budget Recommendation here.)
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Audio and summary Illinois bill would override local law to allow homeless living in all public parks – Wirepoints
April 14, 2026
29 Comments
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago Fiscal Crisis Worse Than Pre-Bankruptcy Detroit, HIV Surge and Public Health Threat From Open Borders Goes Unreported
April 10, 2026
2 Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades
April 3, 2026
9 Comments
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.
WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times falsely blame Texas Gov. Abbott for 2020 to 2024 surge in Chicago Latino HIV, AIDS infections – Wirepoints Quickpoint
March 31, 2026
11 Comments
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
Illinois is starting to sound like an organized crime family.
Oh how clever, the Tax Wizards find a new tentacle of tax burden for Cook Co. residents via upping digital retail tax. Gotta wonder, with the dying off of the appealing things about the county, how many more will flee this growing tax spider?
I thought I was informed…Didn’t know the Cook County budget was almost $7B. How about to start, let the city take over 1/3 and the state the other 2/3. Mandate x% cost savings.