-- 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.
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Preckwinkle will just tax suburbs sand give it to Chicago to pay CTU contract.
I wonder whether Arlington Heights homeowners even look at their tax bill for Cook County Hospital. Many of them given up going through tax appeals and just waiting to bolt out of IL.
Only one way to pay is to Raise Taxes again and again. They will also find other taxes to implement on the residents. The lust for tax money is GREAT. They may start selling plate glass insurance.
Actually there is one tax remaining that I suspect is the desired end game: a City of Chicago income tax. It will be an effective Millionaire’s Tax because that is the only people who will be able to afford to live here. Downstate would certainly support it, so would the collar counties.
Just what CoC needs, more bureaucracy.
Big picture nobody’s talking about, not only does new CTU contract cost $1.5 bill in NEW spending it contractually locks in all the added hires, programs, keeping empty schools open, etc made possible with now largely spent ARPA-COVID fed $billions$…..with dopey taxpayer/homeowners being so stupid they won’t even realize they’ve been punked big-time.
Also, the pay raises are not 4-5%. They’re 4-5% + step raises (more like 7-8% raises?)
Plus compounding on the raises plus increased pension contributions made by CPS on behalf of the teachers plus pension increases related to increased wages. This is a much larger annual cash obligation than the media is admitting.
What a surprise. More money spent on Schools. Shocking. Here’s another idea, have the parents of kids in the school pay tuition to make up the difference. Guaranteed that there will not be $1.5B in improvements or performance, just more money stolen from tax payers and poured into the bottomless pit.
Uh oh Northsiders……better stock up on KY lube.
A higher water tax bill for the good citizens of Chicago—Cool!
Especially when people like Six Percent and Gates pay them only when forced to. Bettleguese Lightfoot came up with the Marxist idea that clean water is a basic human right, even if you’re 3K in arrears.