-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
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
The Chicago pension morass is incredibly entangled among the various funds. Fully CTPF vested teachers can retire in their fifties but return as teacher’s aides to cover their medical insurance and earn credits with the Municipal Employees Retirement Plan while collecting full pension.Police can retire in their fifties and work Aviation security at the airports for medical insurance and municipal employee pension credit. Disgraced Alderman Burke was eligible for a pension from the police fund. The money was never meant to run short. The sheep who voted for this scheme aren’t fully aware of the problems yet.
Simple. If the pensions are not for teachers, then the city pays it.