-- 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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Chicago Public Schools will pick every pocket from Rockford to Cairo to keep their overpaid, underperforming teachers in lucrative jobs.
Chicago taxpayers already contribute to both pension funds—one for the state system and another for the Chicago fund. Under the proposed change, they would still be paying into the state system, but now all Illinois residents, including those outside of Chicago, would help cover the Chicago pension shortfall. Essentially, this is “voodoo accounting” because it gives the illusion of savings by moving the financial responsibility without addressing the underlying pension deficit. The state’s taxpayers, including Chicagoans, will still be on the hook, but the politicians can claim they’ve reduced local pension costs. In reality, it’s just a transfer of responsibility,… Read more »