-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
"Absent more federal aid, Governor JB Pritzker’s threat of 5% to 10% across-the-board budget cuts could be disastrous for some public universities...Reduced funding is especially concerning for the public universities that have fewer revenue streams and depend more on state funding. Those are often the schools that educate more low-income and first-generation students."
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WIREPOINTS ORIGINAL STORIES
Audio and summary Illinois bill would override local law to allow homeless living in all public parks – Wirepoints
April 14, 2026
24 Comments
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago Fiscal Crisis Worse Than Pre-Bankruptcy Detroit, HIV Surge and Public Health Threat From Open Borders Goes Unreported
April 10, 2026
2 Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades
April 3, 2026
9 Comments
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.
WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times falsely blame Texas Gov. Abbott for 2020 to 2024 surge in Chicago Latino HIV, AIDS infections – Wirepoints Quickpoint
March 31, 2026
11 Comments
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
Unlimited student loans are one of the reasons costs are going up so high.
Almost all the money the state gives to the U of I goes to cover pensions.
Land and buildings were paid for generations ago.
Follow the money and you will see where the problem is.
Educations costs have exploded in the last 20 years far higher than they rate of inflation.
If higher ed needs more money they should reduce their massive diversity bureaucracy. Stop paying 7 figure salaries to Assistant Deans to the Vice Chancellor for Diversity
“Two decades of declining state appropriations”. Bull. SURS consumes all additional state funding. Twenty years ago, state university pension contributions were a quarter billion dollars. Today, it’s approaching $2 billion. You bookworms want a pension or not?
The UIUC now has +40% of it’s students from out of state. Many states limit the number of out of state students, e.g. UNC Chapel Hill is limited to a maximum of 10% from out of state – the thinking being in-state students should get those seats.
Since UIUC has been so successful getting out of state students, they should increase the out of state tuition dramatically if they need more revenue.
Does UIUC still have thier insurance policy against drop in wealthy chinese students?
The graduates of union-run public schools in Illinois are not qualified to get into UIUC