-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The tandem hit of a COVID-19 recession and recent civil unrest has the potential to stall the central area's growth trajectory.
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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Downtown is a ghost town now. The office buildings are mostly vacant. The Metra trains bringing in commuters are nearly empty, still, three months after the ‘stay at home’ order. Most of the storefronts are still partially boarded up, the courts are closed, and everyone who works from home is *dreading* returning to the office. Meanwhile, Cabelas in the suburbs are so busy that they are running low on camping gear and they are out of fishing bobbers. Everyone wants to fish and enjoy the fresh air! We all just accepted being crammed into the gross elevators and office buildings… Read more »