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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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Are parents/voters to blame? They elected school board members who were unable to manage basic finances in a wealthy school district. They could not even muster “The Chicago Way” solution to take out a high-interest loan from a politically-connected State Rep to cover the budget shortfall, and pass the loss onto the district for the next 30 years.
Voters yes. There was only 19% turnout in April 2023’s election which put three of these people on the board. The other two people were likely less progressive, and therefore, lost. My local school board election also had about 20% turnout in 2022 and the progressives – supported primarily by older folk with no children in schools – won 60/40. Every parent in my town could have voted for the conservative slate and it still wouldn’t been enough to offset the nutjob crazy progressive base that believes 4 year olds should be confused about their gender. We could of course,… Read more »