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.
I hate these ignorant – yes ignorant – opinion pieces that blames the systemic racism boogyman for the problems in the neighborhoods. Today they arguing redlining from 80 years ago is the cause of Washington Park’s chaos. The article then claims that the Land Bank – which uses taxpayer dollars to pay off back taxes and revitalize neighborhoods, is the solution. But this is complete nonsense. THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE BLIGHT IS THE REAL ESTATE TAX SYSTEM. These properties are burdened with tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes that must be paid by any developer. There is… Read more »