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Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $170.6 million budget gap in 2023 relies on booming tax revenues that the mayor said proves Chicago’s budget has fully recovered from the economic catastrophe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the city’s finances will continue to be pinched by soaring pension payments.
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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That federal bailout spigot will be closed after the new Congress is installed in January.
“Shoring up historically underfunded pensions”? How can the Trib repeat such a blatantly ridiculous slogan? Don’t they have a single person on staff who can read financial statements, or even someone who has read about the pension fiasco. This is irresponsible journalism at its worst
No, they don’t have such a person. And their news side is entirely dominated by wokesters — the Tribune Guild.
This article is from WTTW not the Tribune. There is a tribune article that discusses this so I’m assuming you are talking about that other article. ““Shoring up historically underfunded pensions”? How can the Trib repeat such a blatantly ridiculous slogan?” This is a factually correct statement. The proposed budget is talking about putting more money into pensions which would offer more support. This meets the definition of shoring up. Historically underfunded. Are you arguing that this is a new problem? The Tribune also wasn’t offering up an opinion but rather they are discussing how the mayor is casting her… Read more »
I’d love to see a spreadsheet broken down by department instead of trying to read a bunch of Bull sht. There’s too much weasel wording nonsense, let’s think outside the box or be brave with me!