-- 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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It is not a coincidence that many of these foreclosures are in the LaSalle Street area. As the trading firms employ less people due to electronic trading, or their employees can work remotely, or the firms have moved out of the city, less office space is needed. The trading firm vendors such as tech support and law firms have also reduced their footprint or left as the trading firms have done. The 111 W. Jackson building is next to the Chicago Board of Trade building which was given back to its lender, and the CBOT building is next to the… Read more »
Shoulda just left old LaSalle Street Station right where it was. Roaches and all.
The loop survived the Great Chicago Fire, the Long Depression, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII, the 60’s white flight, the 70’s blight, the 90’s crack wars, but looking into the crystal ball today, it’s not entirely clear that the Chicago loop will survive Lori Lightfoot’s handling of the pandemic. That stupid carpetbagger shut it all down for ‘equity’ or something and years later the effects are still being felt.
You’re saying that The Loop (I’d expand to downtown Chicago) has been so resilient and strong over the years to survive a number of major, negative events thrown at it. I agree. But downtown Chicago may not be able to survive the continuing mismanagement of the city by the so-called progressives (they’re anything but). That shows the magnitude of the effects of the mismanagement. Many of us hope this all turns around, but we don’t see that happening in the near future. Will it be too late if or when rational people in charge attempt the turnaround?
Just take it from an ex-Detroiter. There’s no coming back from progressive mismanagement. Like herpes, it lasts forever.
There’s no rational people anywhere in the political pipeline to make the necessary changes to turnaround downtown. Downtown was thriving pre-covid but now post-covid it’s on life support. I know that commercial real estate is in real trouble everywhere, not just Chicago, but Lori’s decisions to keep downtown closed for so long was the death kneel. People simply readjusted their lives and it didn’t include downtown Chicago, unlike many other large cities that have had more meaningful recoveries, because they reopened sooner. As a result, criminality filled the void, and resulted in two rounds of rioting and looting (june and… Read more »