-- 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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Schools are the biggest drain. This talk by Cronin will amount to very little reduction. Mr. Cronin will most like be a double dipper pensioner. He has been feeding off of the bloated politician salaries for too long. First as a State Senator and then as County Board Chair. One must ask him if he will be taking one or two pensions, if the answer is yes to either, his talk is cheap and meaningless. Public servants should have NEVER been given a pension or the high salaries they have been taking.
While you’re at it, start combining school districts to get rid of the salaries of overpriced administration. Why do we need so many districts? Give some savings back to the overextended taxpayers and hire more teachers.