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The mayor and his allies want $175M from the schools and a big loan to pay for it. But they’ve been blocked at every turn by more responsible actors – so far.
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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The answer to this mess is not more debt. Behaving financially responsible is. Close under utilized schools and lay of the staff. But CTU blocks this at every turn. Make CTU pensions like private sector pensions. Minimal active participation of 10 years to collect a pension. Increase teacher contributions to their pension plans. Raise the retirement age from 55 to 60.
60 would still be a sweet retirement age for most people.
Are there any private pensions left? Some unions yes, but I do not know one non-union working employee currently in a pension plan.