-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Illinois has rapidly become a top legal sports betting market, eclipsing this mark in five years. The state has now seen seven months above $1.4 billion in handle, and monthly tax revenue regularly exceeds $15 million.
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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I wonder how much of the money being gambled is being diverted from other discretionary spending? What other industries are suffering due to the increase in gambling?
I think it’s safe to assume that most all of it is being diverted away from other discretionary spending — and no small part on food for the kids, etc.
It’s shameful that Illinois encourages regressive activities to generate tax revenue to feed its mismanagement machine. Instead, it should concentrate on reducing bloat.
And still not enough money for the tax sucking machine driving this state into the ground