-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Armed with a new “disparity study” mandated by a federal judge, the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity agreed to extend one of the last surviving construction set-aside programs in the country but keep the set-aide percentages the same.
Through December 2027, the city will earmark 26% of all construction contracts for companies owned by minorities and 6% of those contracts for firms controlled by women.
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.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER