-- 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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Best affordable housing solution would be revisions to zoning code to allow ADU (Accessory Dwelling Units) to be constructed upon single-family and two/three flat housing lots. A 2nd-story apartment on top a 2-car garage is a 400 SF studio, a 3-car garage a one-bedroom apartment. These small apartments are achievable via individual homeowners, small capital improvement projects which improve property and create new property value and income. Chicago could offer short-term construction loans, priced below current interest rates, to homeowners, provide standard prototypes and prepared construction plans for such 2-story garage “carriage-houses”.
Disagree 100%. Many low income housing units already house two families per home. Allowing for the construction of a (likely permit-less and low quality) ADU would only pack even more families onto small sized lots. The best solution to affordable housing is to deport the several hundred thousand illegals here now that have colonized the low income housing sector. The lack of affordable housing that isn’t gang and cockroach infested in low income neighorhood reverberates throughout the entire housing market. Not long ago, before the invasion, working class natives would live in low income housing, as would young people, older… Read more »
Let’s see the cost per apartment, will it be $800,000/dwelling unit like other supposed “affordable-housing” projects heavily subsidized by taxpayers? These housing projects are grift, graft, and ghost-employee gold mines of political corruption. Wirepoints, demand financials and info on funding sources and contract awards for this grift-gift from Johnson administration to his loyal alderwoman foot-soldier.
It a ghost jobs program, “… will establish the Residential Investment Corp…will have its own board… and… its own executive director and other staff.” That’s probably 10-20 ghost jobs before any construction starts.
And that’s not to do any real estate development themselves, they just pass the work on to legit real estate developers. I too, would love to spend other peoples money.
Another dark hole for funds to disappear into-did I hear Chicago is financially broke?
This reminds of a quote from Grace Slick a few years ago speaking of the 60’s youth movement:
“We thought we could change the world, when the truth was we couldn’t even change our socks.”
Maybe the people living in these city-owned apartments can buy their food at the city-owned grocery store. Oh wait. ..
“utility costs will be lower due to the green building standards.” But construction costs will be higher. Also, it isn’t clear from the article whether the buildings would be taxable. They want to set up a nonprofit to manage these buildings. My recollection is something like this was done decades ago with the Chicago Dwellings Association, which still exists and appears to manage a few units, paying their President >$380K/year. (source: Form 990 for EIN 36-6109056)
Genuine science and actual financial calculations on initial cost investments and payback of premium “green” construction and equipment costs demonstrate over and over again that there’s No tangible savings, significant additional costs, and environmental impact of discarded “green” solar panels and inefficient heating/cooling/power systems that rely on unreliable weather conditions.
For solar or wind technology to work, you need reliable sustained sunlight and winds. And all that equipment is discarded as landfill junk filled with heavy metals contamination.
The restrictions on the design of these developments make them financially unattractive from the start. Instead of making the rules simpler and more sensible, Mayor Cliff Notes piles on even more expensive solutions to sate the Climate Clerics. The claim of ‘de-commodifying’ housing is painting over another idiotic, unworkable socialist undertaking.
Chicago is flat broke, remember.