-- 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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Hmm……93 out of 100 shoplifters are “successful” but not in a good way.
“… Burke has done away with the $1,000 threshold her predecessor put in place for prosecuting shoplifting cases as a felony, and instead will follow state law, which allows for retail theft to be prosecuted as a felony when the total amount of stolen goods is $300 or more.”
OK, this is an easy operational adjustment for the thugs. Just steal stuff totaling less than $300. That means more incidents of stealing, but less dollar value per steal. You’re welcome, thugs.
It’s not hard to reach the $300 limit on Michigan Ave. The punishment has to be proportionate to the crime. I don’t think we should be charging someone with a felony for stealing a candy bar at Walgreens on Michigan Ave. (unless they are a habitual criminal)…but a smash and grab of $999 louis vitton purses? Sure, charge as many felonies as possible.
More incidents of stealing means the thugs would have to put in more hours at their trade, perhaps approaching a 40-hour work week for, you know, not working.
Too little, too late.