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Across parts of Illinois in the first couple of weeks, there were 281 detention petitions filed in counties covered by the Illinois Office of Statewide Pretrial Services, which serves smaller counties mostly outside of the Chicago metro area, according to Cara Smith, director of the agency. The petitions came from 55 of the 71 counties the agency represents. Smith estimated that about 60% of the detention hearings were granted.
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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