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" Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is asking voters to approve a $3.4 trillion “Fair Tax” amendment to the state constitution. At least it’s going to plug the state’s problems? Far from it. The pressure of pension costs is sucking up the oxygen."
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Audio and summary Illinois bill would override local law to allow homeless living in all public parks – Wirepoints
April 14, 2026
27 Comments
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago Fiscal Crisis Worse Than Pre-Bankruptcy Detroit, HIV Surge and Public Health Threat From Open Borders Goes Unreported
April 10, 2026
2 Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades
April 3, 2026
9 Comments
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.
WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times falsely blame Texas Gov. Abbott for 2020 to 2024 surge in Chicago Latino HIV, AIDS infections – Wirepoints Quickpoint
March 31, 2026
11 Comments
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
According to what I have read, over 300,000 Cook County alone were negatively affected by the change in deductibility of state income taxes. People with that kind of wealth can afford to move elsewhere.
Trillion ? $3.4 billion more like it
Suppose you HATE Trump. Suppose you consider yourself a “fiscal conservative but socially liberal”. One reason to hold your nose and vote for Trump is this exact issue. Trump won’t bail out states that are profligate spenders. And, the federal government shouldn’t.
The Hill article has an error.
If successful the adjustable Illinois state income tax constitutional amendment would initially result in an estimated $3.4 billion in annual state revenue, not $3.4 trillion.
Still dont understand, if dems sweep wh & senate (which hate to say is looking very likely) and they’re able to start bailing out illinois pensions either directly or indirectly with heros act and additional legislation, if your a cop or teacher in a Wisconsin whos contributed heavily to your shared risk- 100% funded pension plan how will you feel your being compensated fairly compared to an illinois state/muni pensioner whos contributed next to zero?? Or maybe fair is irrelevant, just use covid/blm & a dullard public to grab all you can get? But this is what Novembers all about
And when, pray tell, has life ever been different? Only youths think life HAS to be fair in every situation. Never has that been the case.
Unlikely. Landslide for republicans in November
Or how do you bail out illinois ridiculous 667+ seperate pensions EQUALLY with fed $ directly or indirectly?? Seem it would be a legal nightmare with one cop pension claiming they didnt get as much fed bailout $ as the pension in the town down the road?
The money wouldn’t directly benefit any pension fund. Remember that pensioners have no rights to expect a set level of funding only that their pension be paid. Any bailout money that the state received would most likely be spent however they saw fit. Imagine the feds give Illinois a $10 Billion dollar bailout to shore up pensions. A drop in the bucket for the debt but a heavy lift to get from the feds. Let’s say that $10 billion comes with the stipulation that it must be used to fund pension debt. OK, no problem. The state divides up that… Read more »
Pelosi’s heros act has $1 trillion slated for state & municiple /no strings attached aid…if illinois is approx 3.8% of us pop, then illinois / madigan machies cut would be $38 billion if distributed on population bases. Sure peanuts of all that fed $ would go to chumps like u & me. Heros act could just be one of many bailouts if dem sweep in nov.
Exactly right. Heroes act is obscenely stupid.
I have no doubt in my mind that bailouts will happen under a dem sweep. I think regardless of what happens some sort of bailout will happen after the election. It’s just depends on the amount. I just don’t believe that money will go towards paying down pensions. I’ve seen Lucy pull that football away from Charlie too many times.
And the machines got to keep papa madigan around to keep all the trough feeders in line and decide who gets what when the the heros act $mother-load$ rolls in
There is over $20M in the four PACs in which Michael Madigan is the Chair.