Audio: Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon says Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades – Chicago’s Morning Answer
April 3, 2026
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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.
Illinois lost another 54,000 tax filers and dependents, net, according to the IRS. Since 2000, fleeing taxpayers have taken $94 billion of annual adjusted gross income with them.
“So instead of looking forward to two summertime events that could generate some much-needed good vibes, foot traffic and retail activity for the downtown area, we now have a cloud of uncertainty and rancor.”
Uncertainty and rancor. The two phenomenon that unquestionably characterize what passes for governance in Illinois.
This was a bad deal for the city from the start, and no upside for the new mayor– whoever it is. If it goes well Lori will run around trying to take credit for it. If it goes badly– with bad traffic, crime, shootings, etc.– the new mayor will get blamed for it. Plus, there is only so much July entertainment spending from the public, so NASCAR will take away from Lolla and Taste without a doubt. Just another great example of the ineptitude of the entire Lori administration.