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![Mike West, right, joined with his fellow union members represented by AFCSME Council 31, representing employees from CWLP, Public Works and clerical workers for the City of Springfield, as they line the block in front of Municipal Center West as they hold a rally to make their case for a fair contract prior to the Springfield City Council Committee of the Whole meeting in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday, July 27, 2021. [Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/07/28/NSJR/63bb1295-f988-4f6c-9c41-a80c67354c49-ILSPR-07272021-PHOTO-Union-04.jpg?width=660&height=442&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Calling its passage a "top priority" for the Democratic Party of Illinois, then DPI chair U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly said the amendment was necessary to prevent anti-worker legislation from being passed in Springfield.
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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