-- 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 board, we think, should say no to the 4 percent annual raises CPS has put on the table — the average raise Americans got in 2024 was 3 percent to 3.5 percent …”
They’re comparing apples to oranges: CPS teachers get step increases, too; the private sector workers don’t. Therefore, the difference in annual raise percentages would be bigger than stated.