-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
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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First order of business should be recertification of all teachers via a rigorous non-woke actual subject based skills test. I’m betting 50% or more of the teachers would not be able to pass such a mythical test.
I know, will never, ever, happen.
But it would be pretty funny to see what the teachers would score if you gave them a current SAT or ACT test, even though I’m guessing those are woke tests.
I agree that this would be a good thing and also will never happen. What is your plan if only 50% of teachers passed this exam? Are they fired or would you put them on some type of developmental plan? If more training is involved, where does the money come from for additional training? Where does the money come from to pay for the development and implementation of exams? If you are just firing 50% of all teachers, where do you find the qualified teachers to quickly replace them? Do you also require private school teachers to meet these same… Read more »
Good questions. This is a dream world proposal, because after all, it’s corrupt to the bone Illinois and CTU, but I’m fine with a rigorous development plan with mandatory testable goals, and a finite end. Pass or fail. The successful developed teachers might be then be better abled to teach all their students who need remedial help. There’s zero need to test private school teachers and home school parents, as the kids in those paths score high on tests. As to Illinois and Chicago always not having enough money for __________ (fill in the blank). Here’s my view from 30,000… Read more »
“There’s zero need to test private school teachers and home school parents, as the kids in those paths score high on tests.” So would this also hold true for the New Trier’s and Hinsdale Centrals of the world? Those teachers wouldn’t need to be tested based on your criteria. Just teachers that work in lower performing schools? “The state squanders money on stupid shit that does not improves peoples lives.” So where to cut? We hear this all the time with no specifics. Even Rauner didn’t offer up any cuts. I also haven’t heard any specific cuts from Bailey. Remember… Read more »
I would test all public schools. Private schools and home schooling is a different economic structure. Of course politicians can’t cut budgets, they’re spineless, doesn’t matter which party. And the taker class is the loudest group of slackers on the planet. I gave you my view from 30,000 feet, but give me a box of Sharpies and a printed Illinois budget and I could easily cut out all the stupid shit. Shouldn’t take me more than a week. Take care of the most vulnerable in society. The aged, children, and the handicapped. Everyone else is off the government gravy train.… Read more »
So no plan. That’s what I thought. Just another person out there saying cut “waste, fraud, and abuse”. Same old same old.
Also, only making sure public schools have approved teachers doesn’t make sense. Either it’s needed or it’s not. This just proves your desire isn’t to improve education but rather just punish public teachers.
Don’t play mind reader. I wish all children had the education (and parents) I had. I don’t want to punish good teachers, just get rid of the bad ones. If approved teachers aren’t needed, then CPS should hire the people that just got off the buses from Texas. Who cares if they can’t speak English? It’s not like the children’s test scores can get much worse, anyway. I’m sure you taught many kids who became successful ditch diggers, no need to count the future welfare recipients who occupied your classroom but still advanced to the next grade with your approval.… Read more »
“It’s a fact that education majors enter college with the lowest SAT’s and leave college with the highest grades.” Do private school teachers no also have the same issue? Either you want all teachers to meet the same requirements or you don’t. Teachers are already licensed by the state. You are stating you want to up the standards and get rid of teachers that don’t meet your standards. Just the public ones of course. You haven’t outlined where the funds would come from. You haven’t told us where you would get the new teachers that meet your new requirements. You… Read more »
Ataraxis told you his plan. To cut, cut, cut. The guy doesn’t need to be a fellow at the Illinois Policy Institute to give you a white paper for his ideas to cut. The bloat and waste at CPS must be insane. But you’re correct, cutting is difficult, because the reality is that the majority real estate taxes goes to local schools districts – the elementary, high school, and community college. The rest of the money goes to the town, the township, the county, the mosquito abatement district, the water reclamation district, and so on. So when you say ‘cut’… Read more »
But the real issues with educating poor inner city children goes beyond Chicago, it’s this way nationwide in most inner city school districts and it’s been this way for generations. I like to use the example of the HBO show The Wire now nearly decades old spent one season focusing on inner city schools. What I took away from it was that no matter how hard the teachers or administration tried (and some certainly did) the call of the streets was just too great to overcome. The rest was that the admin was incompetent, the teachers were bleeding heart, the… Read more »
As evidenced by the new CPS CEO repeatedly talking about equity, equity, equity, even though half the school is hispanics, most of whom have been here for one generation or less, or are likely illegal, and haven’t been here long enough to be oppressed in America’s intersectional hierarchy. Blacks make up only a 1/3rd of the school but the equity seems to be focused only on the black community. That’s because it is beneficial to the democrat party to indoctrinate the hispanic population as well, which nationally, is abandoning the republican party in droves, everywhere from FL to TX. They… Read more »
The whole “equity” grift is SOP now in education, dem governments, and just about everywhere, it has deeply infested all of our major institutions, both public and private. I work in non – profits, in “workforce development”, and that’s all we hear, and with endless DEI trainings, “mission statements”, etc. “Trauma – informed” is now a huge thing, too, it posits that we are victims, especially minorities (people of color, LGBT’s…). Basically, all this junk teaches that no one is responsible for their own behaviors, and it is of course “feelings – based”. This is a result of the “femininization”… Read more »
Spot on Debtsor,
When 80% of inner city kids are born out of wedlock something has to give.
At $28,000 per year per CPS student we should have already achieved the “highest quality” educational outcome in the country.
Here’s a trivia question. Have you ever seen a Chicago real estate listing highlighting CPS as a selling point?
All the commentary related to this Wirepoints article is the end result if confysing a government jobs program with education.
Yes I have seen listing touting CPS as a selling point, but usually only for a handful of schools like Bell in Roscoe Village; sometime realtors will say its near the Disney School! Except those are magnet schools, not a neighborhood school!
I’m not expecting a white paper but a general statement as to how much and from where. If you can’t provide a basic estimate of what is being cut then you will never gain voter support. That’s how representative government works. Instead it’s “trust me I’ll find it”. It’s the same lazy armchair quarterbacking that we consistently see by people willing to complain about the politics of Illinois but yet have absolutely zero ideas on how to fix it. Nothing makes the establishment happier.
My sentiment is this: Any tax increase is a direct result of increased pension costs. Therefore, any tax increase is a diminishment and impairment of my own retirement to enhance other retirements. I don’t care if they cut anything, they are not allowed to diminish and impair my retirement for the sake of others. Go ahead and fund the pensions, but my retirement demands equal treatment. You could argue, having a 401k plan requires more protections under the law, but I’ll settle for equal.
They have great taxing authority. They can and will raise taxes to pay their debt, including paying pensioners.
Private school teachers are merit hires, unlike public school teachers. Duh. Teachers are licensed by the state of Illinois. So are Illinois hairdressers. Duh #2. Illinois funding. See my Netherlands funding example. The Dutch fund their military and educate their children on the same GDP as Illinois. The money is there. Duh #3. My plan has no chance. Duh #4. You obviously did not understand the depth of my concern for the Illinois budget when I said just give me a box of Sharpies and week and I’ll fix everything. But you rail on as if I’m going to publish… Read more »
The largest expenses and hardest to cut is the pensions. It’s an anchor around the state’s neck.
The rest is hard to cut too without a line by line itemization. Really difficult to cut medicaid which is 20% of the budget. Maybe if we had not given medicaid to illegal immigrants that would help. And IIRC over half of medicaid is basically long term care for old people, the younger people don’t really use all that medicaid benefits on a per capita basis. Can’t cut debt service, can’t cut public safety or group health insurance. There’s probably some room to cut human services but that’s home health care workers, social workers, DCFS, etc. Another 26% of the… Read more »
I agree with most of your assessment other than the ILSC overturning the prior decision. 1. Nothing from these candidates indicate they would be willing to overturn this decision. The last decision was 7-0 with 3 Republicans voting to against cutting pensions. This was not a partisan decision. 2. They would be cutting their own pension 3. Most importantly, there is no case before the ILSC to hold a hearing on this matter. This would require the legislature to actually try and cut pensions again and hope this time the ILSC would agree with them. Currently there is not appetite… Read more »
So why don’t you organize the pension recipients to only take out what was paid in plus interest? It will make everyone feel good that they’re helping the state they love so much.
It’s your idea Ataraxis. You’re the one that’s supposed to come up with the funding. Why would pensioners pay for something that benefits the whole state? That’s why ALL taxpayers in Illinois pay the bill not just those constituents that you don’t like.
Why don’t you donate all your assets to the state? Seems silly right. It’s their money and they are not giving it to the general fund when tax dollars can and will be raised.
Thank you PPF. Your greed and utter selfishness on display for all to see. Payments to pensioners benefit the state. Laughable!
Pensioners paid in x, and they get back x + y.
I spent my whole career as a maker, but you were a taker, and you will be a taker until you collect your last pension payment. I’m glad that I don’t have to live my life knowing that I was a taker my whole life. You have much in common with welfare queens and divorced wives, always saying “But I’m entitled to it!”
Pensioners traded labor for an agreed upon payment for the rest of their life. Get over it. Stop being selfish and just pay more taxes or donate all of your life savings to the state. Maybe pay more in property taxes. You don’t want to be greedy and selfish do you? If you want to live in Illinois you will need to pay the costs. Stop being a taker and pay your bills. Stop trying to allow the state to get out of paying its debt. You are showing yourself for the deadbeat that you are. Maker? Hardly. Just another… Read more »
Hah!. The easiest day on my maker job was still harder than the hardest day on your taker job.
Have a good life enjoying your ill gotten gains. I’m not wasting another second of my valuable retirement time on a Welfare Queen.
Pensions are actual contracts based on labor one works in ones career. Social Security is a government welfare program. Oh sure, you’ll say “but I paid in. It’s my money.” Actually they can alter those payouts whenever they want because you have no contractual rights. That’s because it’s one massive welfare program. Enjoy your welfare. I’ll enjoy my retirement living off my earned assets. Hopefully they will start taxing retirement income so you can stop getting all the services Illinois offers without paying money to support it. That way you will no longer be a taker. You keep living off… Read more »
The reality is that IL pensions are too lavish. There’s a handful of states with pensions as lavish as IL’s, like CA, KY and NJ, and they too have massive pension deficit problems. This is not even a debatable issue. The only solution the Democrat political class has is to let it all crumble to the ground so the next generation can deal with it. They’ll close the state parks, abandon the freeways, shut down social services and abort all the children before they give up even one penny of pension for unionized government workers, the state’s residents be danged.… Read more »
Debtsor, see the reply from the Welfare Queen above on how people can be so stupid.
More like a anchor around the taxpayers neck.
The failure rate would be significantly higher. Most CPS educators can’t read any better than the students!
Maybe the school should focus on the three R’s instead of equity. For thousands of years children learned with little more than a clay tablet and a stick. Today that’s a chalkboard and some books. They make everything so difficult.
First of all you don’t let the entity doing the teaching determine what the standards are, period. Thats called letting the fox guard the henhouse. CPS has proven that it is never on the side of parents, it is bloated, 90% of the departments in CPS have nothing to do with outcomes for kids. CPS is run entirely by the CTU, they might like to think they are in charge of something, that’s just precious.
Yada, yada, yada!
More excuses based on class, ignoring the abysmal performance of CPS/CTU.
Get back to teaching and do your jobs!
Kids and society deserve much better than this list of excuses.