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The agency that operates McCormick Place will be able to pile on to its massive debt load thanks to the state's long-awaited budget. Built into legislation that passed last week is a $293 million increase in the bonding capacity. The agency maxed out its borrowing limit two years ago. Despite a gargantuan long-term debt burden that totaled $3.7 billion as of June 2016, McPier officials plan to take advantage of the new line of credit immediately.
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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