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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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It takes a while, but medical professionals are now recognizing that working to extend qaly of sociopathic predators is not beneficial to overall society. Illinois public-benefits-entitlement crowd has crafted a system whereby medical professionals are shackled in indentured servitude to the public-benefits-entitlement class, both in professional obligation/liability, and extra taxation (public- benefits -entitlements -class isn’t taxed on their supra-legal pension contributions demanded of Illinois private sector taxpayers). The 3rd extra tax is Illinois’ relative diminishing home values due to property tax rates 300%+ of American mean and median. Medical professionals who are not ‘stuck’ in Illinois are fleeing with the… Read more »
Kids here need to go to school on Saturdays like they do in other countries.
The teachers raises every year will be based on the consumer price index (CPI). For 2023 it is estimated at 4.9%. What if the CPI stays flat? Are there no raises that year? Which metric of the CPI will determine the raise? Will it be the volatile energy or food or just the average?
https://www.bls.gov/cpi/
That’s 4.9 percent raises on top of prorated step increases. This process of negotiating raises according to the cost of living always means the public school teachers come out ahead, as opposed to most workers in the private sector.
Hmmmm…….they’re stealing. Less work, same pay instead of chopping forty minutes, chop four full days.
It sounds like they negotiated a contract. The exact opposite of stealing.
True that they negotiated the contract but were “Any” of the terms made public before ratification? Another behind closed door deal with no public input regarding costs associated. Taxpayers left in the dark. Where is the transparency? Would you buy a car or a home and let them put in the details after you signed the contract? Taxpayers are clueless until they get the bill. Here is a novel solution. Of course this will never happen in Illinois but at least someone is trying. Transparency! https://nsba.org/ASBJ/2021/june/open-bargaining
The public input is when they choose their elected school board members. The public doesn’t sit int he negotiations nor weight in with their thoughts on each individual contract. That’s not how representative government works. If you’re unhappy with the outcome of the contract then elect different board members but John Q public complaining about every aspect of every contract is never going to happen.
Respectfully the school board in most cities/towns are backed by the school unions. If any candidate says anything negative against the school district like reigning in costs they have little chance of winning. That’s one reason why it is hard to get quality candidates. The school board candidate that I know of who told me some of the demands made by the teachers were outrageous now works for the school district. So much for him siding with the public. So you are stating that John Q Public should be left in the dark? What about the state? Who represents the… Read more »
“Respectfully the school board in most cities/towns are backed by the school unions.” So voters are supporting the pro-union candidate? Shouldn’t surprise anyone considering they also support peoples rights to join a union and collectively bargain. If a school board candidate runs on a platform of less spending, cutting wages and benefits and other tax savings ideas and doesn’t get elected then that means the voters don’t want that type of leadership. Instead they want pro-union board members that support more pay and benefits for teachers. Don’t get upset when the board gives the voters exactly what they want. Voters… Read more »
Don’t forget the the union backing in most cases is not made public. So the voters do not know all the details of the candidate. Remember how George Santos got elected. He was fluent in BS and probably had a PHD to boot (which he printed off the internet)to prove it. He lied his way in and the voters who did not know voted him in. There in his district it may not be like in Illinois where your entire past is made public if the opposition looks like their losing in the polls. So much dirt is dug up… Read more »
P.S. The voters who choose the school board members are most likely employees of the school districts plus their families is a large voting block. Here in Rockford Dist 205 there are 4,700 employees plus their families should be close to 9,500+- voters and usually the turnout is very small for the city at 10-15% at best. Their candidates usually wins.
So the voters aren’t savvy enough to choose the right candidate but somehow they will be more involved to negotiate a fair contract. If they don’t have enough time and dedication to determine the proper candidate they definitely aren’t equipped for more work. I understand that you want to be involved in these contracts but not sure what you or anyone else would do with this information. Protest and complain? The board would just ignore you anyway. Your chance to make a difference is on Election Day. Voters have decided that they want that school board making these decisions. Not… Read more »
It’s not just the voters. The media or local officials(including the mayor) are not allowed in these meetings. If the local media outlets could attend these meetings they could digest the demands and relate it to the public. They (media) have more resources than the average taxpayers to explain to the public all the incidentals. Most people are not aware that the Rockford school district pays over $21K in health insurance costs to teachers and paraprofessionals. Is this the best price and value for taxpayers and employees? I would wager that 99 out of a 100 people in Rockford do… Read more »
“Most people are not aware that the Rockford school district pays over $21K in health insurance costs to teachers and paraprofessionals. Is this the best price and value for taxpayers and employees? I would wager that 99 out of a 100 people in Rockford do not know the district picks up 100% of the teachers pension contributions. Why all the secrecy?” What secrecy? If you know the information then it’s not a secret. The contracts are available for all to see. No secrecy at all. What’s the point of having a mayor in a meeting if he/she is not part… Read more »
“There is a serious disconnect between what you want and what the rest of the voters want.” You’re not wrong when you use the word voters. We lament that so few voters show up to the polls for municipal elections. Ask the losing conservative candidates from this past election how they feel. It seemed like there was momentum for conservatives but 20% turnout combined with large number of mail-in and harvested ballots turned the tides in Democrat’s favor. The larger issue Fred addresses is that the IL system is purposely designed to favor Democrats and D-incumbents. Fred discusses that government… Read more »