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America should not look away from these grim realities in the heartland of our nation. Chicago has historically been the grand city of middle America, but its descent into chaos must serve as a grave warning to the rest of the country. The kinds of policies pursued by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Democratic machine reflect the radical agenda of the Biden administration for the entire country. The United States must heed the harsh lessons of Chicago’s carnage and choose entirely different policies for our country.
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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Crains Chicago many years ago issued a frontline story comparing Chicago’s then-decline to Detroit’s own decline. This issue should be reposted here on Wirepoints. Same issues apply, actual current conditions far far worse.
Chicago’s best days are behind it. The decline will only get much worse and the smart ones are leaving.
The stubborn and stupid ones that stay will face unimaginable hardship and suffering for both them and their family.
Detroit was largely abandoned, Chicago can be also.
It happens relatively quickly. I saw it first-hand in Detroit. As a child in the 60’s, I played in the streets with my friends after dark in my grandmother’s neighborhood in Detroit. Nobody was afraid- the neighbors had all lived there for years and everyone knew each other. Ten years later, the neighborhood was mostly boarded up and abandoned. So sad to see.
Unfortunately, you are seeing it again.