“City workers are guaranteed benefits that ordinary workers have to pay for, even when they’re struggling” – Ted on The Chicago Way with John Kass

Ted was on with John Kass earlier this week discussing Mayor Lightfoot’s state of the city speech and what she should do to fix Chicago’s problems.

“Lori Lightfoot was elected as an agent of change, a reformer. And when she stood up to Ald. Burke in that first council meeting we thought we were seeing something different, but she’s got to follow through on the whole system, especially finances.”

If Lightfoot wants to defend the ordinary Chicagoan, she has to say the following:

  • Chicagoans can’t take this anymore, we need a pension amendment going forward.
  • We can’t have these labor laws that give the unions so much power over ordinary people – Illinois teachers can strike, but striking is forbidden in all our neighboring states.
  • If Springfield won’t give up those reforms, then give Chicago the power to go bankrupt.

Click here to listen

 

Read more about why Lightfoot needs to be a champion for real reforms:

 

22 Comments
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NB-Chicago
4 years ago

Ted–fantastic job, once again, make the rock solid case there’s no way out of debt mess except amend pension clause or allow bankruptcy-no other way out mathematically. Not to diminish from your interview, but what was more surprising was Kass second 1/2 interview with super progressive Alderman Waguespack–he basically admitted as you say repeatedly average debt burden per-capita for those able to pay is in $100s of thousands, stating that besides a few last minute fixes that would have to be enacted immediately-bankruptcy is may be only plausible solution, and that CTU are greedy–why his quotes are front page is… Read more »

DantheMan
4 years ago

In the WGN radio interview, Ted mentions the root cause of the problem is the pension debt. Is that really true? Would there be a pension crisis if conservatives had controlled Chicago and Illinois the last 30 years instead of liberals?

Admin
4 years ago
Reply to  DantheMan

Dan, there’s no doubt the true root causes are decades of corruption, a destruction of democratic principles, cronyism, failed leadership and laws that overwhelmingly favor the public sector over the ordinary Chicagoan. You can add more to that list and change the order, but it’s some form of The Chicago Machine, the Chicago Way. It’s all manifesting itself now in the crumbling finances and contributing to why Chicago is shrinking. Without big structural changes in governance – of which fiscal reform is only one – we know where this is all headed. If politicians won’t fix Chicago, then market forces – the bond… Read more »

DantheMan
4 years ago
Reply to  Ted Dabrowski

Thanks for responding Ted. I’m just saying core defining conservative values include living within your means/budget and small government is better than big government. Basically the opposite of Illinois values.

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  DantheMan

The constituencies of cities skews towards single Democrat women. And single women are the largest constituency for Democrat women with almost two thirds of them voting Democrat. https://quillette.com/2019/09/05/the-politics-of-procreation/

I don’t know what this means but I do know that mentioning that you prefer conservative values to urban single women is the quickest way to end a date!

DantheMan
4 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

I wouldn’t know. Married many years now. I’ll take your word for it. lol

joe blow
4 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

single urban women get a lot of benefits from the gubmint thanks to the LBJ Great Society – of course they vote in their best interest

Hank Scorpio
4 years ago
Reply to  DantheMan

Playing politics with a math problem is not the right approach — the message will be completely washed out and you will be ignored if you blame one party over the other. Besides, we have already seen Republicans deficit spending at the national level. Just because someone wears a red tie doesn’t mean they are not capable of being a dumb corrupt p.o.s. And no, I’m not a leftie — I hold no loyalty to either side.

Admin
4 years ago
Reply to  Hank Scorpio

I need to start collecting some of the great lines from our commenters, like yours: “Just because someone wears a red tie doesn’t mean they are not capable of being a dumb corrupt p.o.s.” The GOP indeed has had it”s share, and still does.

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  Hank Scorpio

“And no, I’m not a leftie — I hold no loyalty to either side.”

Unfortunately party loyalty does matter. Most issues in the federal and Illinois state are passed entirely on party lines. There are few bi-partisan issues. You may not agree with everything your side stands for but it is the complete opposite of what the other side stands for. And when voting time comes you bet party matters. Madigan knows this.

Palamas
4 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

Yes, Mr. Glennon disparages the president when posting on a debate regarding bankruptcy, corruption and mismanagement by Democrats for 50+ years in IL among other places — yes, that makes a lot of sense. Good save with the “I’m not a lefty”. As debtsor says, people like you ARE the problem Mr. Glennon, because you can’t see who on aggregate is contributing to an overwhelming majority of America’s problems. Yet you want to feel good about yourself by being “open minded” or a centrist. Let me make it easy for you, the left isn’t open minded and doesn’t care about… Read more »

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  Palamas

100 +1’s for this comment.

Admin
4 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

Palamas and debtsor, that’s interesting. I am curious exactly what you have an issue with. Should I not post articles from the left and other perspectives? Is it better to refrain from criticizing Republicans when they, too commit the sins more often committed by Dems? Should I not approve when Dems say something right?

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  Mark Glennon

Mark, I interpreted what he’s saying is that there is a very, very fine line between criticizing and disagreeing with your party, and actively supporting your opponents. Too much criticizing and disagreeing is exactly what what our opponents want us to do. and that’s why they keep winning.

Admin
4 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

That’s a reasonable perspective. Be aware, however, that’s not our philosophy for Wirepoints. We really do just call things as we see them and let the chips fall where they may. If that means praising a Dem or criticizing a GOPer, that’s what we do. Maybe that’s not the best strategy for the GOP, but we’ve made the decision to let facts speak for themselves, stick to advocating policies we think work, and leaving the politics to others.

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  Mark Glennon

Yes, in a perfect world, that would be great. But we live in a world where we love to see AOC call Nancy Pelosi a racist and we eat it up. But we at the same time don’t need to live in a NeverTrumper world either because our opponents exploit that. Letting the chips fall where they may, so to speak, gave D’s in IL a super majority, which in turn, has resulted in no pension reform, massive tax hikes (with more to come!), abortion on demand and LGBTQ+ indoctrination of children before they are even teenagers. Keep letting the… Read more »

Willowglen
4 years ago
Reply to  Palamas

I suffer from the disease of thinking discussions centered around logic, facts and math are essential, so doing just that will be able to persuade at least some people. And the math is so bad in Illinois one has to be completely intellectually dishonest to assert there is not a massive problem. But I see your point Palamas. Some are incapable of having any kind of factual discussion. My college friend is a partner in a major law firm in Chicago, educated at our country’s best schools, and I can’t get beyond anything other than conservatives are bad peoples with… Read more »

Admin
4 years ago
Reply to  Willowglen

Willowglen, it’s truly astonishing that labeling, as you describe, has become such a routine substitute for thinking on the left. We see it everywhere. Their first instinct is to ask things like who is it saying that? Who agrees with that opinion? Who funds them? If anybody right of center appears on the list of answers, they conclude they are facing evil. What a betrayal of classic liberalism. Decades ago it was the right that was often guilty of that, but hey were never as hostile to critical thinking as the modern left.

MikeH
4 years ago
Reply to  Mark Glennon

Identity politics in action. And to expand on Willoglen’s last comment: Numbers are for Republicans, feelings are for Democrats.

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  Willowglen

Your friend disagrees with the majority of conservative positions, and by lazily just hating all conservatives, she just throws out the baby with the bath water. Which is OK, she can live how she wants to live, but don’t expect me to pay for her progressive Utopia.

Platinum Goose
4 years ago
Reply to  Willowglen

“My college friend is a partner in a major law firm in Chicago” – and most politicians come from what profession?

Willowglen
4 years ago
Reply to  Platinum Goose

Platinum Goose – I chose my friend also as an example of the liberal elitists who I went to school with. Like my friend, I was a law review editor at a so-called Tier 1 school, but unlike her, I grew up in desperate poverty and abuse. I went to this elitist top 10 undergrad school with a great basketball team on athletic scholarship, so I had nothing there either but athletic ability and an ability to see the world as an outcast. Law review was filled with progressive elitists who could virtue signal all day long but who couldn’t… Read more »

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A statewide concern: Illinois’ population decline outpaces neighboring states – Wirepoints on ABC20 Champaign

“We are not in good shape” Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski told ABC 20 Champaign during a segment on Illinois’ latest population losses. Illinois was one of just three states to shrink in the 2010-2020 period and has lost another 300,000 people since then. Ted says things need to change. “It’s too expensive to live here, there aren’t enough good jobs and nobody trusts the government anymore. There’s just other places to go where you can be more satisfied.”

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