-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The businesses owned by James Bracken have garnered government contracts from across Cook County worth up to $250 million for demolition services, equipment rental and materials. At the same time, Bracken and the businesses themselves have contributed nearly $375,000 to a wide array of local elected officials, including a half-dozen who have been charged or come under federal investigation.
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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Looks like 10% cost of doing business