-- 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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10,000 is merely the migrants we know about, usually the Venezuelans bused here. The rest of them already have informal networks of relatives and friends to get by. I was at a local grocery store the other day, family behind me in line clearly from Latin America, didn’t speak a lick of English, looked FOAB.
My local Menards in Cherry Valley by Rockford on Sunday looks like Mexico City.
The last time I was in Rockford I was surprised at how hispanic the west side of the downtown area had become. It’s like they just set up shop in some abandoned building and called it a taqueria. No renovation, no fresh coat of paint. Just turned on the gas and electricity and opened up some taco stands or whatnot.
That area is on South Main St starting at the old Metro Center (Now BMO Center) Some on Broadway and food trucks everywhere including the east side parking lots.. Downtown Belvidere is the same. How many taco stands do we need?
Anderson Japanese Gardens is spectacular. Voted the best or one of the best in North America. Midway Village has lots of WW2 reenactments. What I would like to see come back is On The Waterfront multi day festival in downtown Rockford. Up to 200K visitors for the weekend. Here are the groups that played here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Waterfront_(festival)