-- 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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Where are the tax bills? My reading of the delay in mailing them is that the political leeches in the know realize the increases will be huge. They are using this extra time to find positions elsewhere to survive the inevitable massacre when taxpayers finally have had enough. All the programs suggesting property owners pay “a small amount more” in surcharge to aid those who are unable to pay, indicate massive increases on the way!
If the trajectory is for deficits and pension funding to get worse, and if the prospects of federal bailout are diminishing, why is bankruptcy now not the best solution for debtors and creditors alike? Not to mention taxpayers? Right-sizing the school system facilities and faculties might improve student learning. Business confidence might be restored and office vacancies reduced. If credit ratings improve, some of the debt might be refinanced. The primary reason for delay is presumably politicians’ desires to remain in office with hopes for pay and benefit increases and ultimately maxed-out pensions. Freezing the pensions now would increase the… Read more »
Many more still to leave as their leases expire. Rental rates are going down, way down. The building owners will go broke and let the bank own the building. This is a downward Death Spiral.
Amazing. Not even a mention about crime on the “L” or the crime downtown that now even Judge Evans is warning his employees about that it is not safe to be outside alone in The Loop. But on a positive note, more space available for affordable housing.
And if Sycamore Partners is smart their next move will be to leave Illinois.
Chicago continues to lose its luster, while city leaders divert their eyes, and attention, onto issues that have proven to be divisive and damaging. It takes a lot to destroy a city, but ignoring the city’s economic base while fluttering around with national sugarplums dancing in their heads is a proven way to do it.