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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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Johnson vows to connive, cheat, lie , play the race card and do whatever it takes to “ get dat monay!” , just as he promised.
Other gigantic problems with very vaguely worded BCH referendum (CTU/Brandon slush fund)are: 1.) Alderman supposedly are not going to be able to vote on how BCH tax revenue are spent. Instead supposedly a “committee” will be appointed to decide how funds are spent. Who appoints the committee? Mayor, alderman? CTU? nobody knows? 2.) Tax funds don’t have to be spent on homeless directly (i.e.–rent subsidies, shelters, etc) but can be spent on “services” or service providers. Who or what is defined as service provider nobody knows but you can bet CTU & SEIU will be considered. 3.) Who or what… Read more »
The democrats eliminated the federal Manson tax, that the republicans put in place. Namely the limited deduction of real estate taxes to $10,000.
Bingo! And the Democrats continue to fight agains that limitation! I’ve had that in the queue to write about.
Don’t forget that $10K in real estate taxes in Rockford is only a $250K value home give or take. In other states like Arizona/Colorado $10K in taxes are on a $1-$1.5M home. In for example Boulder,Co tax rate is 0.56% of total value so a $1M home pays $5,600. In AZ rate is approx 0.83%/Hawaii is around 0.26% or so but values have increased substantially. In those states a house was and is an investment. Here a house in an ATM machine for local taxing bodies.
very disappointing there’s a zillion articles on BCH tax referendum but I can’t find a link showing how BCH actually appears on ballot?
Good old Ballotpedia has it, https://ballotpedia.org/Chicago,_Illinois,_Ballot_Question_1,_Real_Estate_Transfer_Tax_Measure_(March_2024) Chicago Ballot Question 1: A “yes” vote would have supported making the following changes to the city’s real estate transfer tax, using the revenue from the increase to address homelessness, including providing permanent affordable housing: For real estate under $1 million, decrease the real estate transfer tax by 20%, so that the new tax is $3 for every $500 of the transfer price; For real estate between $1 million and $1.5 million, increase the real estate transfer tax by 166.67%, so that the new tax is $10 for every $500 of the transfer price; and… Read more »
It’s continuously infuriating to me that regular media usually won’t link to the document the story is about. This story at least told us a written opinion about it will be out Monday, which most of the others didn’t even bother to explain.
Two great takeaways from this story. First– a good example of the buffoonery rampant in the Mayor’s staff. They can’t even draft language that can get by a Democrat judge in the City of Chicago. You have to be grossly incompetent to achieve that. And Second– it highlights one of the problems with early voting. Those who vote early aren’t even sure what candidates are on the ballot, and in this case, what referendum language they are even looking at. So to all those folks who already voted early — OOPS! we shouldn’t have had that question on the ballot… Read more »