-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Chicago will have to choose between three difficult options without an infusion of state and federal money to help with the migrant crisis: midyear budget cuts and layoffs; draining reserves in a raid which could endanger the city’s bond rating; or raising property taxes. Mayor Brandon Johnson will cross that bridge when he comes to it.
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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Does anyone know how much of proposed budget is still relying on unused fed COVID $bucks$?
Unless and until the city gets its labor costs under control the only solution is higher taxes. The payroll database is eye opening, to say the least. https://data.cityofchicago.org/Administration-Finance/Current-Employee-Names-Salaries-and-Position-Title/xzkq-xp2w My old neighbor, fat John, is paid 158K as a Streets and San supervisor. That’s not a skilled trade. I want a journeyman to work on my plumbing or elevator, but to pick up the phone? No thanks.