-- 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.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
What more proof does one need to conclude that Chicago/Illinois are a complete disaster for anyone trying to live the American dream and raise a family than Chicago area coming in next last for housing starts per capita? A complete embarrassment for JB & the machine one would think? But you’d never know from reading ST/WBEZ, Trib, etc. Although, now I read that housing prices are tumbling in Texas, Florida, NC, etc because they’ve built so much housing….WOW!!, Huston area building 5.6 times the # of housing units then Chicago area per capita!!!!…dream on JB & the machine.
I believe Illinois is also getting it’s ass kicked with housing starts per capita/ 1,000 residents by are neighboring states…if you have no life (me) and look at US Census data with Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa each producing up to 3 times as many housing units per capita as Illinois in 2023. But not a lot of up to date data….one would thing the news media would be all over it?.
We aren’t building housing here because we have suburban sprawl 100 miles from Zion to Channahon, our sprawl is already unmanageable. Furthermore, the metro area isn’t growing, and those few new residents we get are poor migrants with no documents, while our competitors get the skilled laborer or college educated office worker with a steady income and a desire to buy a new home. The few national builders aren’t going to disparage the Chicago market outright saying IL SUX and they’ll just banter around other ideas tangential to the real issue. But there’s a reason most home builders avoid Illinois… Read more »