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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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This is bone headed. The parks are public and should be free for anyone, if the thugs take it over so be it. A retired guy from Ohio told me he always wanted to see the submarine at the museum of science and industry. I told him its a dangerous neighborhood now. He wanted to know where to stay in Chicago, I told him I honestly didn’t know a safe place off the top of my head. Also there are thousands of ways to walk into the parks across the grass, this is a very stupid idea, not a solution… Read more »
Thing is, putting barricades and metal detectors and guards around the perimeters of public parks only tells the public that you’ve decided everyplace outside the park is dangerous.
If public safety in Chicago was a homework assignment, Little Laurie Lightfoot would get an “F” for this essay.
On second thought, bad analogy. No one actually fails in a Chicago public school.
per ACLU–Stop & Frisk, facial recognition software, etc not allowed because it’s systemically racist? but for downtown it’s ok to search everybody with metal detectors and extra private security? When you stop a kid to run the metal detector over him isn’t that the same as Stop & Frisk? Maybe every wilden kid could come with there own personal taxpayer funded ACLU lawyer? Nothing in news about what all this is costing. INSANITY!!
So, the first day with metal detectors, some one tries to jump the fence and gets shot by security guard. Answers the question of why this is needed.
Your papers please!
A good start but not enough. In Europe during the height of the terrorist attacks in airports, it was common to see basically tactical units with fully automatic assault weapons in plain view, and no one was smiling. That’s what is needed in Chicago – they need to be driven back.
At Heathrow they had small APCs at the terminals. That was a sight. In Frankfurt the police looked like Massachusetts State Police with MP5s, peaked hats and all!
The park needs to be walled/ fenced with check points. Bet the folks in Hyde Park would like the same.
The Carabinieri in Italy patrolled streets with fully automatic weapons. they were very popular. Crime was very low. Murder is even lower, and almost always foreigners or crimes of passion.
Chicago cops can’t even chase criminals anymore because someone might get hurt. In italy they can spray the criminal full of lead from a fully automatic weapon and they are praised as heroes.
Per CWB, the CPD rules for pursuit are 13 pages long, but the key line for the cops is the one that says police will not be penalized for calling off or not starting a pursuit.
The transit police in France were like that, and I was in a good area. All dressed in black, automatic weapons, and big dogs.
My host warned us before we even knew they were on the train to “not make eye contact” if we see any policemen.
Coming into Paris once, for some reason the anti-terrorist unit decided my luggage needed to be gone through (American coming from Newark?) I was shocked, and looked at them – they were pissed off, and waved me away. But better than the ‘pat down’ from TSA.
Soon there will be moats with alligators or piranha surrounding the park along with towers and kettles of boiling oil. People with boulders and bows and arrows hurling them down to those who are scaling the walls. Giant tree trunks sharpened to break down the 50 foot doors. Sounds like a movie I saw but can’t remember which one. Can anyone guess which movie?
Why not metal detectors at the Red Line? Nothing but knee jerk theatre. It’s ok to carry weapons downtown but not in Grant Park. Every gun a potential mass shooting.