Ted was on Illinois Rising earlier this week discussing the plan Rahm Emanuel has floated to issue $10 billion in pension bonds.
First of all, it simply won’t work. You can’t borrow your way out of a debt problem. Second, it could requires Chicago to sell parts of its financial future. To make the borrowing work, the city will have to pledge future tax revenues to its bankers. And that means prioritizing bondholders over Chicagoans in case of bankruptcy.
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Read more about Chicago’s $10 billion bond idea here: Rahm Emanuel’s latest can kick: Borrow $10 billion for Chicago pensions
New Trier High School made national headlines nine years ago as a “canary in a coal mine” for political indoctrination in public schools. The canaries lived.
Among the consequences of economic growth that badly lags national averages are billions of lost revenue every year. Yet denial reigns in Illinois, fueling the vicious cycle of demand for higher taxes.