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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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In regards to bike lane insanity. I’m from the Rockford area and regularly go to Beloit, Wi. Near the Walmart there a bike lane begins in the middle of nowhere on a former 4 lane road, now two because of the bike lane, and then ends about 3 blocks later, in the middle of nowhere with no route off the street. Insanity. Whoever the genius was that thought that big lane was a good idea should be horse whipped.
All this bike lane stuff is crazy. There’s a reason we have 4 lane roads and it’s to reduce traffic congestion and commute times.
Every time they “repurpose” a 4 lane into a 2 lane they slow things down. It’s a big step backwards.
It’s a step forward for the climate activists who want you to bike to work in -12 degree weather on a snowy February morning.
And who’s more likely to bike to work in -12 degree weather on a snowy February morning? The avid cyclist, who is most likely white.
I don’t mind protected bike lanes. The dirty secret is they could be implemented in more places if they removed street parking. But removing street parking is seen as marginalizing renters who cannot afford off-street parking. Intersectionality at its finest.
Actually, every time they “repurpose” a 4 lane into a 2 lane, some of that traffic is diverted to other streets, making them more dangerous.
I will add bike lanes disproportionately benefit white (skin and collar) commuters. And therein lies the rub: Any traffic calming measures are going to impact more people of color.
Interestingly, poorer people use vehicles to commute more than any other demographic; bikes are primarily a white mode of “transport”: https://www.newgeography.com/content/007610-poverty-level-workers-use-cars-commuting-more-others POVERTY LEVEL WORKERS USE CARS IN COMMUTING MORE THAN OTHERS “….In Poverty Personal Vehicle Share Now Exceeds that of Other Workers The 2021 data indicates a reversal, as the share of workers in poverty commuting by personal vehicle now exceeds the rate of others. According to American Community Survey data, 71.6% of in poverty workers use personal vehicles, 2.3% above other commuters, at 70.1%…. Reducing Poverty The great advantage of personal vehicles for workers in poverty is that they… Read more »