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
-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Audio and summary 
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.
Any entity that lends money to Chicago deserves to lose it.
Do you really think the vast majority of Chicago “voters” realize that this has happened leave alone understand what it means? You have a better chance of educating the Bonobos at Lincoln Park zoo than Chicagoans. They have already moved on from the Bears to figuring out what bar they can get face down drunk in on St. Patty’s day. That’s what they understand. That’s what they are interested in. Democrats run Chicago and Illinois because they know what lives there and manipulate them accordingly. Republicans make the mistake of thinking they are dealing with functional humans.
My understanding is general obligation bonds are considered the safest type of municipal investment when it comes to buying state debt. The market is talking and this is looking more like very bad news.
Right. A general obligation bond (G0) is backed by the full faith and credit of the issuer, as opposed to some other bonds that are backed only by a lien or mortgage on a particular asset. A drop of 10% in the market prices for GOs, as Chicago has seen in a month, is huge.
I believe that GO bonds got bigger haircuts than secured bonds or UTGO bonds in the Detroit bankruptcy. If correct, the 10% drop is consistent with a greater risk.
Chicago’s ability to raise more taxes is becoming limited. More and more the rich are fleeing and leaving the poor immigrants to pay the debt. This is a disaster that will not end well for bond holders or taxpayers.
The city needs an income tax so the millionaires can pay their fair share.
Great idea. Please do it. It will be hilarious to watch.
Remember, the rating agencies are slow to react because the City pays their fees. They will be hesitant to criticize their client. But the market is the best indicator of what Chicago’s credit looks like, and this is not good.
Chicago’s financial situation has been schite for over two decades now. For all that time, The Bond Bullschiter gleefully ignored this and coaxed people into ponying up for these junk bonds. Every Mayor since Hizzoner has steered Chicago’s finances straight into the ditch, mortgaging assets and borrowing more all that time to create the illusion of fiscal competence. Mayor Cliff Notes is the worst of the bunch, unfortunately. His arrival coincided with the need for a real financial manager. What Chicago got instead was a leftist ideologue who, typical of the ilk, couldn’t grasp the concept that eventually, bad government… Read more »
Junk bonds
The canary is gasping for air and the miners are busy filming ICE on their phones. Bye, Birdie!
Where there is smoke, there is most often fire. And we know that if Brandon is good at creating anything, it is a dumpster fire. One would have to have extremely poor discretion to consider “investing” in Chicago or Cook County debt.