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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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Inflation over the last 10 years is 35%. So rent increases in Chicago over the last 10 years is pretty much in line with inflation. Rents in most cities without rent control laws is pretty much a result of supply and demand. Chicago is no different. What’s all the hand wringing about?
I agree with the thrust of the linked article but “among” and “average” are two very weak terms where statistics are concerned. would love to see their sample sizes, p-numbers, medians, standard deviations and so on. If Elon Musk goes to a Sox game, the average salary at that Sox game is over $1 million. Doesn’t mean everyone’s
rich.
Not expensive if a section 8 recipient. Would be interesting to see what the percentage of residents receive here and if as I suspect it has been growing.
Yes, property taxes are the problem. Also, the cost to evict adds to the expense. And dishonest/violent tenants and anti-landlord legislation made life miserable for affordable housing providers so a lot of them left Chicago. Housing providers are targets for lawsuits, and you won’t get justice from Cook County judges. So $2200 a month sounds about right. I feel sorry for any individual who tries to be a Chicago housing provider. Better to be a big corporation with a large legal staff/property management staff. Chicago is getting like Seattle. Affordable housing providers and nonprofits are giving up in Seattle because… Read more »
I split my time between both cities so let me set the record straight for you: Chicago and Seattle can only dream of becoming the other. To suggest they have anything in common is preposterous.
Let me set the record straight for you: Both cities have anti-landlord legislation in common. The number of small landlords is shrinking in both cities. Seattle rent is 30% above national average, and Chicago ranks among most expensive cities to rent an apartment. So Seattle and Chicago have that in common.
I hate west coast commie cities as much as any decent person does but this is a reach. If high rent and pro-corporate legislation is your criteria then you might as well say Chicago is becoming London Sydney Paris or Tokyo.
Oh, for pete’s sake. The point is, most small landlords are getting out of cities like Chicago and Seattle because of anti-landlord legislation and the difficulty of evicting bad tenants. That’s all I meant.
So sorry I ever mentioned Seattle. New York City, San Francisco, LA, Detroit, Portland, Chicago are all crappy for landlords.
Chicago ranks 52nd in rent when looking at the top 100 cities. It is about 6% above the national average which makes it quite affordable compared to other major cities. Seattle is ranked 16th in terms of priciest cities and is 40 to 50% above the national average. Also, small landlords are shrinking in virtually every major city.