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The mayor said one of the things driving the decisions she’s made in her budget plan is the fact the city’s four employee pension funds are “woefully underfunded,” and the city’s need to meet its obligation to retirees, and city employees who will be retiring in the future.
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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.
Chicagoans have no idea what it’s like to pay real property taxes, come out by me and pay over 7,000 a year towards or horse sh-t school district. They complain about 3,000, when you get to 6,000 and up cry.
Fed up – Chicago residents are heading to suburban tax levels. It is the City’s most reliable way to raise revenue. Now, of course, people may leave at a greater rate than before, but such is the plight with the City having massive pension debts. Making it worse is that commercial real estate valuations likely will be going down.
Willow glen I have family in Chicago and trust me there not even close to the suburbs, and leaving at a greater rate I agree.
Chicago Bankruptcy now Lightfoot. it is inevitable and the sooner the better.
The people in the city of Chcago have gone around IL raising everyone elses taxes. It is time that the people of Chicago (who overwhelmingly voted for the progressive income tax) pay their fair share. Please raise their taxes…
Of course there are no easy choices. If there were, the mess would have been fixed a long time ago. By refusing to make difficult choices, politicians have only made a bad situation much worse.
Spot on.
Driving yet even more chicago residents to flee…