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The railroad announced record quarterly profits in October, and executives expect intermodal traffic through yards like 47th Street to be their most significant growth driver in coming years. But Norfolk Southern’s location in the heart of Chicago means it can’t avoid withering debates over who benefits and who doesn’t from the city’s prominence as a freight hub, what happens when the railroad displaces longtime residents, and whether it’s doing enough to promote green space and clean air for those still living near the tracks.
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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How City Hall LITERALLY Railroaded Englewood Residents
The state has a $30M ad campaign touting we’re in the middle of everything. Now they’re complaining all that activity creates pollution. No kidding, Socrates. Geographically speaking, we are a pass-through. Get over it.