-- 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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Everyone complains that homeowners pay too much but commercial buildings pay too little. This is complete nonsense. Even with all the appeals, commercial buildings pay taxes through the nose. Taxes are so high, which translate to high rents, the commercial vacancies throughout Cook County is ridiculously high. Just last week I was talking to a friend that was trying to rent office space in a suburb, and the rent/operating cost on a psf basis was near half of the gross monthly rent paid to the landlord. Not unsurprisingly, the office complex is over 1/3rd vacant. I drove through the northern… Read more »
Suburban Chicago office vacancy sets fifth straight quarterly record
April 19, 2022
Suburban Chicago offices are emptier than ever. For the fifth straight quarter, vacancy hit a record high in the suburban market as businesses downsized, Crain’s reported, citing JLL data. New leasing activity is concentrated among companies shedding space with plans to host employees in their offices far less often than before the pandemic. With workers aiming for hybrid schedules consisting of remote work and only two to four days in the office, and employers reducing footprints accordingly, total vacancy ticked up to 27.1 percent, JLL found.
To further support your point, I think many “office workers” now work 0 to 1 days per week in the office.
Wow, who saw this coming?