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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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Very Gov ‘Slickback’ like – raiding the woefully underfunded public employee pensions for political projects. Would think there is a fiduciary responsibility that is being violated, but this is IL where the state motto is ‘What, me worry?’
Many of us baby boomers got to where we are today without free stuff. We studied hard and worked responsible jobs for many years. Our loans weren’t forgiven, and we didn’t receive money from the state or feds to help us buy our first home. We lived within our means and invested our money wisely. Some people today are unwilling to do these things, and Pritzker and other IL pols are happy to make them new members of the Free Stuff Army. Forcing desirable suburbs to take on undesirable elements of society will cause some of the desirable elements to… Read more »
Good reply mqyl especially No. 1 that’s how it was in the good ole days.
Down voters oh well you must not be from the good ole days, when family was family, friends were friends and neighbors were neighbors.
So Pritzker wants to turn the pension funds into a slush fund. An interesting big win for him. Consider he can garner national headlines about “brining affordable housing to Illinois” and at the same time temporarily boost employment numbers to grab another headline. The best part for Pritzker is that it costs him nothing for the headlines as the real payers are the taxpayers of Illinois. Quite a nice deal for Pritzker but for the rest of us its just another lump of coal in our Christmas stocking.
In Woodstock, CUSD, the annual levy per pupil charged as property tax burden is ~$10,000. Per US Census, each domicile contains 0.60 school-aged humans. .6 x $10,000= $6000. Each new dwelling unit created will need to pay $6000 property tax per year just to schools in order to “break-even” for its own new cost to the community, that is, to not require subsidizing payments from existing property tax payers. Most/all new development in Woodstock occurs within TIF district…because they get subsidies and free grants of property and development cost waivers. TIF properties pay next to zero in property taxes to… Read more »
Would be better off investing in moving or truck rental companies, why build more homes when the state is losing population and property values are already dropping.
In my town in lake county its already happening. Every available property in town is filling up with 5-6 story apartment buildings. Outskirts getting large town house developments. Yet with the additional tax base you wouldn’t think our property taxes would be raising as such a fast pace. We citizens all need to know from top to bottom, fed to library district, where did all the money go.
People that live in Section 8 housing built by guilty white libs don’t pay taxes.
Correct. And they don’t support local retail, bars, restaurants, sporting events, cultural centers and other activities you find in higher end neighborhoods. That’ one reason why the move to convert downtown empty office buildings to Section 8 does not help revitalize downtown.
This article is COMPLETELY insane. This is a massive progressive boondoogle in the making: ~~Housing advocates often support higher density as the way to get more housing into desirable neighborhoods *MAGIC DIRT THEORY!!! The dirt underneath the housing is what makes a neighborhood desirable, not the people that live there! Merely transport a bunch of uneducated third world immigrants onto the MAGIC DIRT and BAM! immediate doctors, scientists and valedictorians. ~~Strict zoning and high construction costs have long hampered the development of new market-rate homes in the middle range *This is a symptom of the disease, not the disease. Zoning… Read more »
The problems are real simple– unions, unions, unions. The carpenters, plumbers, electricians and bricklayers control the building codes because they own the politicians. This story is decades old and will never change as long as you have union toadies in office. JB and Brandon, whaddya’ think? You both want to take on the unions, right?
Forcing pensions to invest in housing or in any other particular sector is crazy. Pensions must invest for returns; anything else only makes their problems worse.
Would state even have legal authority to use each unions funds for housing subsidies or other purposes? or, I assume, unions would have to voluntarily agree to loaning state pension funds with taxpayer back guarantees of return $……WHAT COULD GO WRONG!?!?!??????
The state’s pensions are not owned by the unions but by the state. Unfortunately, the state could probably authorize this by exempting it from the fiduciary duty it has to pension beneficiaries.
So another words the Pensions will now be broke 4 times over.
So, your saying this CRAZY borrowing scheme may or may not violate constitutional pension protection clause? Seems like some slippery DESPERATE territory to me. I would imagine state would borrow against pension funds with clause that fiduciary duty it has to pension beneficiaries for borrowed funds are on the backs of chump taxpayers to make up for any losses.
Absolutely NUTS!!! Is any other state so desperate they are trying anything like this?
Yes, it’s nuts, but that’s the way it is. Quite a few states have pensions that give investment preference to things that support policy goals beyond return on investment. ESG mandates are not uncommon. All foolish, IMO.
I guess this would open the door to state or Illinois 7,000 units of gov borrowing against pension funds to, for example, pay CTU members 9% a year raises or some other crazy? The opportunities for pay-to-play $ would be endless. But I’m sure the bond ratings would tank?
Spot-on. With the negligent mismanagement of Illinois’ pension funds and the resultant underfunding, JB the Hutt should stick to spending his overfunded trust fund.
Kids, this level of underfunded pensions would not be allowed in the private sector.