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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 did a bit of research on this ruling. First off, it was by a 3 judge panel, not the entire 6th circuit appelate court. It was a 2-1 decision. The two justices in the majority, Alice Batchelder and David McKeague, were appointed by George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, respectively. Batchelder was considered for the US Supreme Court by George W. Bush, but that nomination instead went to Samuel Alito. McKeague’s appointment to the 6th circuit was quite controversial, having stalled in the Senate for many years, and was advanced only after Republicans threatened to invoke the “nuclear”… Read more »
The case you mention involved some workers and retirees trying to get a bankruptcy judge’s determination nullified. Michigan has a contract” clause similar to Illinois for public pensions. Bankruptcy courts can modify or invalidate contracts. A bankruptcy judge has authority to modify or invalidate the findings of the Illinois court that things like health benefits and COLAs are contract rights. He/she would also have the right to cut-back pensions that the Illinois court has determined to be non-impairable. Bankruptcy via the Federal Courts may be the only way to find a sustainable level of pensions and benefits for public employees.… Read more »
The real rationale for the decision was that it’s far too late to overturn the whole Detroit bankruptcy decision. It would be an impossible mess to throw it out at this point. That’s clearly true.