-- 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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I visit family and friends regularly in the Chicago metro area. I always make it a point to visit the Loop and Mag Mile when I am in town. In 2019 there was still a lot of foot traffic in the Loop and I saw plenty of people leaving and entering the Dirksen Building. Go by this building’s lobby today and you could roll a truck load of bowling balls thru the Ist floor lobby and not hit a single person. The place is deserted!