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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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Then there are the school ditricts that overtax their property owners just because they can. That was an actual answer by our School Board when asked why they were increasing taxes even though the Village was holding even. Also we have not seen a school referendum question on our local ballot for over 15 years, but our HS District, 2nd largest in IL, went on a 10 year spending spree upgrading and expanding the 5 high schools in the district with nary an ask of the voters. State audits constantly indicated our District is over-reserved, always falling on deaf ears.… Read more »
Martire’s basic position is we have a revenue problem. This is difficult to defend in general, especially after a 40% increase in the state budget and use of temporary federal COVID money to shore up a few things that would otherwise have remained un or under addressed. More specifically, in his roles on River Forest’s grammar school and Oak Park & River Forests high school district he voted to increase spending and taxes. Most egregiously, he voted to bypass River Forest and Oak Park voters by consciously avoiding a referendum on what in the end will be a $200+ million… Read more »
But this WAS a referendum the voters of RF and OP voted on march ballot and it bigly was voted down.
All public pensions need to be revised. A lot of these people receive 80% of their salaries. All public pensions need to be revised to be in line with private pensions. Or let them go bankrupt.
Nope. All other spending will need to be cut or taxes will need to raised to pay for pensions. They will be paid first before your other spending wishes.
Pension reform – for new employees – is decades overdue. The Tier 2 changes were in part just negated by Pritzker. The pension problem perpetuates itself, exponentially. Why? As George Bernard Shaw observed, “ a government that robs from Peter to pay Paul can alway count on the support of Paul. Substitute “taxpayer” for Peter and “public pensioners” for Paul and there you have the loop funding campaign donations to perpetuate the pension system without modernization. The system was never meant to pay pensions for 35 years having paid in for far fewer, actuarial adjustments not yet made are needed.… Read more »
“Pension reform – for new employees – is decades overdue” Nope. They reformed pensions less than 15 years ago. Those changes were too aggressive as politicians from both sides of the aisle recently agreed to improve tier 2 benefits to be more similar to tier 1 for Chicago Police and Fire. “The system was never meant to pay pensions for 35 years having paid in for far fewer, actuarial adjustments not yet made are needed.” Not true. The system for Illinois pensioners has been in place for decades and the state has known that entire time the costs of those… Read more »
I am almost 99% certain you are an Illinois union stoooge!!
You are 100% wrong every time.