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The Chicago region’s “green economy” — a term referring to efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions and foster sustainable development — produced more than $18 billion last year, behind New York, Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas, according to a World Business Chicago research report. The city should perform better given its diverse economic foundation that includes agriculture, manufacturing and transportation, according to Robin Ficke, the group’s senior vice president of research. She said Chicago currently has about 65,000 jobs in the green economy, which is fifth place in the US.
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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A direct quote from that article
“Read more: Chinese Battery Maker Picks Illinois for $2 Billion Factory”
We now see Pritzker’s headlines working as planned