-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
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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Private public partnerships can work if due diligence is done and full transparency is established.
A half assed ordinance would probably discourage these kinds of arrangements that some cities need when — a large property (like Arlington Park) becomes vacant — and local funds won’t cover the cost to adapt the site for new use.
AH residents, don’t become the Pontiac pushovers of Illinois.