-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
A federal grand jury has indicted 34th Ward Ald. Carrie Austin, 72, and her chief of staff, Chester Wilson, on bribery charges. The U.S. attorney's office says Austin conspired "to receive home improvements from construction contractors seeking city assistance" for a development project in her ward on the city's far South Side. Austin faces four total counts, including lying to the FBI. Wilson faces similar bribery charges and one count of theft of government funds.
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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