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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
27 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.
I was looking at a residence in a Chicago-area suburb that had property taxes of $5,200 in 2016 and $5,700 in 2017. That’s a 10 percent increase. Whose income increases by 10 percent a year to keep pace? Also, I think that very few properties are appreciating in value in IL; so, what’s the justification for the 10 percent increase?
These out-of-control property tax increases are a big reason why people are moving out of state.
this is exaclty why is is criticsal that prtizker get elected. The goal should be to push Illinois into bankruptcy, ergo we need more Democrats elected. Illinois can serve on last useful purpose,as the crowning example of what happens when you have liberal democrats in charge. It is imperative all traces of Republican control be eradicated.
On a personal note I do not want the state to work its way through it retiree obligations, I want those bloated pigs to get a massive benefit cut, I want to see their anguish on their faces. Bankruptcy is our savior.
I’ve read lots of articles like this, but what seems lacking is dates when things(pension funds) go broke are obviously beyond bankruptcy avoidance. Are we there already were bankruptcy, or a de facto legal circus nightmare, is unavoidable? Will the state and munis go scorched earth death spiral to the bitter end like Harvey?
That’s probably the most common question we get here. My view remains that there is no particular date or big, booming event. Instead, it’s a continuing, inevitable slide into the abyss. This is about disaster mitigation, not disaster avoidance.
The statement in the article that Illinois has been dependent on federal bailouts is a gross misrepresentation. Every reputable study has shown the exact opposite – that Illinoisans pay much more in federal taxes than they get back in federal spending, and this has been true for decades. Indeed, it is generally the red (republican dominated) states that are net recipients of federal spending above what they pay in taxes, probably because they tend to be poorer.
Prior to modification of the SALT deductions low-tax red states were subsidizing high-tax blue states. Can you cite one of your “reputable studies”?
The same thought occurred to me and I think you are right as far as that goes, but you do have to net out that federal spending/federal taxes history of Illinois against other things. For example, I was not aware that IL used Build Am. bonds disproportionately, as these authors claim. And there’s Erik’s point above. Personally, I think the history doesn’t matter. What’s should be important is that IL is now a drag on the national economy by most measures. IL should not be bailed out, but it is in the nation’s interest to get IL turned around. Bankruptcy-for-states… Read more »
I didn’t read the article the way you did. I don’t think the point is about which states are net positive or negative recipients of federal dollars. Rather, I read the article as stating that the 2008 bailouts significantly reduce the moral hazards for a kleptocracy like Illinois, because the political class deep down believes that the Federal government will come to the rescue. I find this point really persuasive. Obama was pushing for significant financial relief for Puerto Rico, even to the point of disrupting property rights, believing with i think some degree of accuracy that Puerto Rico could… Read more »
I highly doubt that people in other states want to see a bailout of a State that has been corrupt to the core for decades. The Illinois democrat party is nothing more than a white collar crime syndicate.
Illinois should not receive a dime of bail out money from the fed.