-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
For two decades, an Iraqi billionaire who once was barred from entering the United States has been trying to develop 62 acres he owns along the Chicago River south of the Loop. Each time, Nadhmi Shakir Auchi has run into political and legal roadblocks. Some involved his partners, others centered on his past — which includes two criminal convictions and a connection to a young Saddam Hussein.
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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A helpful article from the Sun-Times summarizing some of the sleaze around this development, including links to other articles related to the topic. One’s mind boggles at the complexities! But not too difficult to determine the victims.
Iraqi investor?