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Illinois, with the worst finances of any state, has been banking on billions in federal funding. Since the pandemic, Illinois’s total retirement and debt liabilities are on track to make up 45% of the state’s gross domestic product by June 2021, up from 35% in 2019, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Illinois was one of only two borrowers to tap loans offered from the Federal Reserve as part of the aid packages.
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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
27 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.
State Debt (pensions, retiree healthcare, bonds, etc.) + State COVID-19 Lockdowns = Less revenue available to the state. Governor Pritzker’s solution? No restructuring of debt. Add more debt via a short term loan from the Federal Reserve (historic program). Continue lockdown policy. Increase spending on social justice initiatives and elsewhere. No collective bargaining agreement pay freezes. Promote a referendum to the state constitution to permit an adjustable state income tax. That in turn permits the General Assembly to create adjustable state income tax rates. The initial adjustable tax rates hike state income taxes on the wealthy. Sounds great to the… Read more »
You nailed it.