-- 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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The fools in the CTU seem to be utterly unaware that the state is in dire financial condition not much better than Chicago. They live in a fantasyland of wishes and wants.
Just a thought. In West Virginia, the state school board has issued several state of emergency decrees in regard to individual schools or school districts that were not preserving discipline or not “educating” students as reflected by reading and math scores. See: https://wvmetronews.com/2024/05/08/state-of-emergency-declared-in-berkeley-county-after-state-school-board-receives-report-about-out-of-control-martinsburg-north-middle-school/ One wonders whether such decrees could be issued in Illinois and by whom. AND what would be the extent of relief that could be required. For example, could the trustees of a public pension fund declare a state of emergency and cut-back pensions to preserve the fund for future retirees? Obviously there’d be some legal issues regarding… Read more »
I’m thoroughly amused by the consistent inability of commenters here to predict trends! Just about every statement from frequent posters discredits momentum and impugns on common sense political posturing. Why do people put up with it?
Dave? Is that you?
Mayor Johnson is probably very worried by Mayor Adams’ federal indictment. He should be. Perhaps Feds will be coming for him next.
My layman’s understanding of the crux of the allegations against Eric Adams is that he had “$100,000 in luxury travel perks” he didn’t disclose in exchange for influence from Turkey and China, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. The raids against him just so happened to be several days after he criticized the Biden administration for the migrant issue. Literally days afterward. maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it wasn’t. The Biden administration has shown itself, if anything, to be petty and trite. Brandon has been very careful to direct his ire towards Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and… Read more »
This article is like listening to a broken record as so much of what is reported was reported here at Wirepoints as it unfolded. Perhaps the Tribune’s reporters should take a daily gander on what is written here-it might do them some good.
The Tribune, Sun-Times, WBEZ and some others have systematically ignored our research for years, even though wea’ve been regularly cited by major national media. We are essentially blacklisted by those local sources, no matter how meticulous our work is, documenting the sources we use. There have been occasional exceptions on the editorial side where they have printed our stuff, but it’s the woke, agenda-based “news” side where the real problem is.
Crains & Trib occasionally prints Vallas pieces. Crains printed his most recent, which I thought was really good: (https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opinion/pedro-martinez-scapegoated-cps-writes-paul-vallas)
Yes, we are posting that now.
Reporters? You mean the C and D students in College who couldn’t hack any real majors? You know. Idiots.
“A coalition is emerging that believes by 2027, the potential fiscal damage to Chicago could be too severe to allow for an easy recovery.” Way to stay on top of things, Chicago establishment. You’re only 15 years late recognizing that. Good luck fixing it now.
“A coalition is emerging that believes by 2027, the potential fiscal damage to Chicago could be too severe to allow for an easy recovery.” Stop and think for a moment about that statement. That’s how asleep these people are. They are perfectly content with the status quo as long as the restaurants are open, dancing with the stars is on TV and it’s not them who are getting robbed, killed or taxed to death. These are not fully functional cognitive individuals. How can anyone look at the state of affairs in Chicago or Illinois and say, well if this goes… Read more »
The Parisians in 1939 were partying without a care in the world while Germany was rolling tanks onto the Champs Élysées several months later. That’s Chicago right now but instead of the Germans, it will be the financial markets.
““Someone should start running for Mayor of Chicago … now,” tweeted the tech entrepreneur and restaurateur Nick Kokonas Wednesday, summarizing a broader sentiment. “Imagine if a candidate proposed real, detailed and logical solutions to counteract the current admin (sic). Perhaps we could avoid 14 people running and improve policy.”” Nick Kokonas is the Bargaining state of give stages of grief, DABDA. Nick likely at first denied that Chicago was sliding into the progressive doom loop, afterwards he became angry when Johnson won. Now he’s trying to bargain, he wants some candidate (maybe himself?) to talk policy and proposals. Sure, LOL… Read more »
Nick Kokonas. Restauranter. Bread and circuses. Typical Chicagoan. Clueless. Unaware.
“Certainly, the whispers have grown into open discussion of putting up opposition with funding behind it.” This is pure cope. The residents of Chicago are getting exactly what they voted for. If you look at the results of the February 2023 election, Lori Lightfoot came in 3rd place but she won overwhelmingly the black neighborhoods. Because she was the black incumbent. Brandon Johnson came in second place winning the ‘progressive’ neighborhoods. Last year, I drove through my old neighborhood during election season for a professional obligation and I saw million dollar homes with Johnson signs out front. Vallas won 1st… Read more »
Let’s just call it what it is without fear. The black population of Chicago has, in large part, been “educated” by CPS. In other words, they are functionally illiterate for the most part. What can they understand? Vote for the black. That’s it. Nothing else. The black candidate could be a strung out degenerate junkie. It doesn’t matter. He’s black and therefore better than any white candidate. But the idiot whites won’t say that is racist. If the black population realized how easily they are led and how these democrats talk about them out of public earshot, they would revolt.… Read more »
It’s slightly more nuanced than that, but many blacks vote do vote for the black Democrat on the ballot, because as I’ve explained, they get what they want out of black politicians: welfare, abortion, affirmation action, and social justice. Chicago is most assuredly the welfare, abortion, affirmation action and social justice capital of the Midwest. Their complaints about politicians arise out wanting even more money and even less criminal prosecution for crime, not the other way around. Everyone seems to forget that Vivek – one time – went to the south side of Chicago for a town hall. He said… Read more »
So essentially Money for nothing and the ability to murder one’s children without prosecution. As I said and I repeat, illiterate idiots. Unredeemable. To be redeemable, it requires intelligence, morality, self respect, self reflection and effort. None of which is present in the vast majority of the black community. Forget the nuance. Either these people start carrying their own weight or put a fence around where they live and forget about them. I am sick of carrying them and I no longer care about them since they don’t care about themselves. I laugh at the Black lives matter BS. Yeah,… Read more »
“As I said and I repeat, illiterate idiots. Unredeemable. To be redeemable, it requires intelligence, morality, self respect, self reflection and effort. None of which is present in the vast majority of the black community.”
That’s half of white people there too. Your comment is a bit too much. I’m not going to make the illogical leap from identity politics where people vote for their tribe’s member to some rant about intelligence and self-respect.
With all due respect, what happens in the black community is way more than identity politics. There is a cultural deficiency there that you don’t see in any other culture in America, and the left is trying to spread that decay to the rest of America. You are correct that many whites have embraced this culture to their own detriment. The danger is the country’s reluctance to call this culture what it is, rather than to continue to make excuses for it. You express your own reluctance to make that jump. People need to stop being afraid of being called… Read more »
Mobilize CPS right into bankruptcy and void all those insane salaries and pensions.
Chicagoans LIKE. THE. STATUS. QUO. Do not disturb them. They cannot handle anything other than beer and a cubs game. They are not cognitive functional beings and cannot be made aware of their slavery. Think Amoebas.