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Lori Lightfoot is beating Toni Preckwinkle 53 percent to 17 percent in the new, exclusive poll, but 4 in 10 voters oppose higher taxes for pensions—a critical issue facing whoever becomes mayor.
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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Can’t help but admire the CTU. They have influenced the public that they are worth the cost despite all evidence to the contrary.
So 35% of Chicagoans are following Chicago’s public pension crisis “very closely” but only 31% “strongly agree” would be willing to pay higher taxes to fund those pensions. Probably safe to say those following it very closely are on the receiving end of those pensions or have family members who will because I highly doubt the average renter or millennial gives two damns. The fact this number is several percentage points lower is surprising. In fact, for all the choices given, pensions were the lowest priority for all residents, which proves my long standing point: Given a choice, working families… Read more »
Well, 4 in 10 do oppose higher taxes for pensions, but 57% said they favored higher taxes for pensions. Given all the rhetoric on this site and the media in general vilifying pensioners, that 57% is a surprisingly high number – much higher than I would have expected.
That’s a point that deserves an entire article, which we will do soon.
Exactly my thoughts. Doesn’t the public generally oppose higher taxes regardless of the purpose?
I’m not shocked. I’m not sure the percentage of public vs private employees in the state, but with the number of school teachers and related admin staff, municipal and state employees and retirees and related family members-hanger ons, it’s the utmost importance that this pension farce continues for these folks. The private sector employees will continue to leave with each tax increase and the funding will just get worse