-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
A onetime labor leader with ties to several prominent Illinois politicians pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday in a lesser-known extortion case that still threatens to reach deep into the state’s halls of power. As part of his plea deal, former Teamster chief John T. Coli will cooperate with the feds in other investigations. Coli admitted to taking part in a scheme to extort $325,000 from Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, the clout-heavy studio that is home to such hit TV shows as “Chicago Fire” and “Empire.” He pleaded guilty to receiving a prohibited payment and filing a false income tax return.
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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And the hits just keep on coming.