Audio: Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon says Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades – Chicago’s Morning Answer
April 3, 2026
9 Comments
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.
Illinois lost another 54,000 tax filers and dependents, net, according to the IRS. Since 2000, fleeing taxpayers have taken $94 billion of annual adjusted gross income with them.
CPD you are traitors to Illinois residents and the American people!
You suck up to Illinois legislative COMMUNISTS
Here is the service that the taxpaying citizen gets from the CPD. What the data says In 2023, more than half of high-priority 911 calls in Chicago (about 56%) had no police immediately available at the time of dispatch. Wirepoints+2Wirepoints+2 “No police immediately available” doesn’t always mean “never responded at all” — it means there was a backlog, so police units were all busy elsewhere. But many of those calls do eventually get police dispatched once units become free. Wirepoints+1 Evidence that in many cases, the police show up later There are documented cases of calls for violent crimes (assaults,… Read more »
I guarantee you that when CPD Chief of Patrol Jon Hein is under oath soon, he will tell the Feds that he “was just following orders.”
Hmmmm. Where I have I heard that justification before?
And a few minutes ago our trusty CPD Superintendent at his press conference just denied that this occurred despite the above printout. Someone is going to get fired– either the Chief of Patrol or the Super.
Or, as is the Chicago way, nobody is going to get fired.
Why would they get fired? CPD reports to the mayor. If the mayor is the ultimate person responsible for this order then it’s the mayor that deserves to be fired. That outcome will be up to the voters.
Even if it can’t be traced back to the mayor, do you really think Johnson will apply pressure on the police chief to fire anyone over this. This is exactly what Johnson and Pritzker want.
They lie bigly just like the governor They are cowards
The Stupidintendent spent years as a gym instructor at the police academy. Merit promotion to other ranks and very little actual police experience. A political appointment by the mayor to overly and follow city hall orders without question. Defending the Chief of Patrol Heins’ order to not respond to assist federal agents under attack with an overwhelming amount of evidence is laughable. Laughable like his appointment.
How is Chicago different than Gaza?
“Civilians” turn a blind eye to murderous terrorism by unlawful actors who are funded–pay-to-slay– by their dogwhistle masters like Pritzker and Hamas billionaires living large in Qatar.
Human shield are used by the terrorists.
We Civilians who refuse to proactively engage in defense against pritzkeresque terrorism are complicit in destruction of our own communities.
We in Illinois who refuse to proactively deter these murderous bigoted Fascist Nazi Illinois Dictators (Pritzker and his ilk) are as complicit as Nazi German housewives and Southern KKK townsfolk who looked the other way. 7 decades ago.
Who is willing to band together and form a phalanx to protect law enforcement from JewChristianHatingJihadists?
We need a critical mass or we sink under the waves individually, painted by victorious evildoers as villains.
Pritzker and Johnson are scumbags! Vote them out, as well as Rwame.
You must all be so proud. These are the leaders you elected. They reflect on you. I suppose you geniuses also believe they responded to the calls despite what the 911 tapes reflect? So the question is what are you going to do about it? Complain? Go back to reading about the Cubs? Drink another beer? Yea that what I thought.
I didn’t elect any of these fools Greta. Come to the southside of Chicago and help me do…something about it.
IL (D)’s want the feds out, so be it…
And take the federal tax money with them…
IL would instantly have a multi billion $ hole to fill…
Reap what you sow…
The federal government should move its back office administration all over the country out of major population centers in favor of cheaper offices closer to the constituents. Start with DC agency staff; but also move US employees out of Chicago. The regional US EPA should be headquartered in Des Moines or Fort Wayne, not Chicago. GSA to Peoria or Dekalb. It would be fair to order Chicago staff to work out of other offices out of concern for employees of the US government; but then explain the financial and decentralization motives without reference to safety and move them out of… Read more »
Chief of Patrol Jon Hein gave the orders to not assist. That man left other law enforcement officials in a life threatening situation and should be ashamed of himself
They should respond at the same rate they respond to the general public. They are no different than a private taxpayer citizen. Everyone should be treated the same.
Wrong. Another officer in distress takes priority. Attacking any law enforcement should be met with swift policing and justice.
ICE has automatic weapons, no one in distress. Cops should follow their Captains orders. The private citizen is who pays the bills and does not get shit for it when they need help.
Please never call 911 when you’re in distress.
Many people do not bother as the cops never show up. Taxpayers pay some of the highest taxes and get some of the worst services. But Cops do get huge pensions at young ages. Good work if you can get it.
Please never call 911 when you’re in distress.
And Ice shoudn use their auto weapons!
Well, they probably did. Most calls to the police are not responded to by the CPD.
It doesn’t sound like the CPD denies that the order went out not to respond, claiming only that officers responded anyway. If so, salute to those officers.
Who issued the order not to respond
CPD Chief of Patrol Jon Hein ordered city officers to leave the area as tensions escalated following the shooting of a woman by Border Patrol agents, supervisors said in recorded radio traffic.
The woman who showed an automatic weapon to the agent’s. You forgot that part .
and intentionally rammed the Feds van with her car before stepping out of her car with her gun
Responded to the vehicle accident to do paperwork .