-- 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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Translation: This worked, so we need to figure out how to abandon our agreement and seek yet more money from NASCAR and its fans. No matter how much we got and are entitled to in the future, it is not enough.
Even before the monsoon last weekend, hotels were not seeing a huge volume of guests, and NASCAR ticket sales were underwhelming — nowhere near the 50K minimum of tickets that were projected to be sold.
Not sure that Chicago is a draw for NASCAR — especially with hotel rooms starting at $300 a night.
While the race did look great on TV, it’s unclear whether the economic benefit would ever outweigh the business losses (businesses forced to close due to barricaded streets) and other costs that the city would see from this event