-- 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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THE CITIES OWN FAULT………POLITICIANS LET DOWNTOWN GO TO H..LL WITH CRIME…..USED TO BE DOWNTOWN ALOT……NOT EVER AGAIN!!
I long for the good old days when I went shopping at JL Hudsons in downtown Detroit…….
Worse than Detroit?
If the the data is comparable, this is troubling.
“The overall vacancy rate for the retail market ended the fourth quarter at 5.2 percent, representing a slight decrease of 10 basis points over the previous quarter.”
https://www.dbusiness.com/daily-news/report-2023-metro-detroit-office-vacancy-rate-rises-industrial-and-retail-are-stable/
The data above captures the broader metro area. Still, on a metro versus metro basis, metro Chicago is weaker than metro Detroit.
“According to Lee & Associates, vacancy in Chicago’s retail market dropped to 5.8 percent and there was over 3.3 million square feet of absorption over the past year.”
https://33realty.com/blog/chicagos-commercial-real-estate-boom