-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Gov. JB Pritzker said recently, “Nobody wants to buy an old prison, for example, to use for something. And so sometimes you have to tear down what’s on the property to make it of any value to a future owner and so we’re looking at all that.”
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.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
New Illinois license plate motto: Land of Abandoned Sites
Reminiscent of the Joliet mayor trying to get Bo Jackson to build a sports dome on the extremely toxic U. S. Steel property now crumbling away. Apparently, a soil study, etc. are beyond these politicians comprehension, like the failed migrant center proposed for land owned by a player in the old Hired Truck scam.
No need to spend $300million, just put the properties on the market as-is.
JB doesn’t get it. Tax people and businesses to death, they don’t come, they leave
Some businesses might stay if they continue to receive major subsidies from us taxpayers.
I wonder if there’s more detail about these sites somewhere. Which ones could be redeveloped as is, which need remediation of environmental issues, potential re-uses? Nothing on JB’s web page about it; might there be some detail in the budget document?
Well I guess its good to see our bankrupt State has 300 million laying around to be thrown at something.
How about this; the state offers a clear title to the properties after they have been demolished, cleared and remediated?
We could have an auction, or some sort of process where the properties are put on offer. The title does not convey until the property is clean. The recipient might even receive some extra development rights to sweeten the deal?
This solution would not require a whole lot of taxpayer’s money.
The sad truth is that these parcels probably have such little value that nobody would take the deal..
If the parcels have little value after cleanup, is it worth cleaning them? They might be more valuable in a state with low taxes and growing economy.