Totaling the unsustainable tax increases and windfall revenue during Pritzker Administration – Wirepoints
May 26, 2026
23 Comments
With $162 billion more from taxpayers, couldn’t you deliver a few bond upgrades, too
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A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
Financing current expenses with bond proceeds is not a recipe for success.
Caveat emptor:
“Fitch noted that the negative outlook it assigned in May reflects the city’s lack of progress toward permanent and impactful solutions to its structural budget gap, estimated at more than $1.1 billion for 2026.”
Chicago has no ability to pay its debt, this is fraud.
No it’s not. No one forcing people to buy this paper. They are buying it with the additional risk to capture the additional premium. The free market at work.
Buyers are informed and know the risks of investing in a city as poorly run as Chicago.
“Justin Marlowe…pointed to the CMF’s Muni Index, which showed double-digit positive changes for most of the nation’s top cities between April 16 and June 18. New York City saw a 44.15% price improvement. Boston saw a 38.8% improvement, Houston a 27.91% improvement, San Francisco a 33.59% improvement and Columbus a 26.17% improvement.
Chicago, by contrast, saw a 1.35% improvement.”
This counts as ‘leadership’ to Illinois Democrats.
What a misleading headline. Triple B credit? Negative outlook? 200 basis points above a good AAA rate? The fact that there are some bottom feeders willing to buy this paper does not warrant a headline that in any way makes Chicago’s finances look acceptable.
Be prepared, Chicago will declare bankruptcy.