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Ald. Gilbert Villegas noted that ward organizations are a shadow of what they once were: “An alderman back in the ’80s or ’90s had the ability to have precinct captains, the ability to bring out the vote. It’s not like that anymore,” he said. Vaunted operations run by formal or informal political families are dwindling away. Field workers of today are more frequently members of unions who have endorsed the candidate or are associated with ideological groups.
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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.
Could it just be that voters are not buying what certain politicians are selling?
Good. This what happens when lackeys who hustle the voters are not given ghost patronage jobs as a reward.
That gap has been filled with progressive non-profits and political orgs that had been traditionally shunned by the Democratic establishment in the past. Progressive groups are exploiting the gaping organizational hole left in Madigan’s absence. Candidates like Villegas that benefited from Madigan’s machine, who basically ran their campaigns on overdrive, now have to put in far more effort than they had in the past.