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Earlier this month, a Citi research report said Illinois is “almost guaranteed” a credit rating downgrade to junk if a constitutional amendment to replace its flat income tax rate with graduated rates fails to pass on Nov. 3.
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Audio and summary Illinois bill would override local law to allow homeless living in all public parks – Wirepoints
April 14, 2026
29 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.
When dealing with Illinois one should be more concerned with the return OF his money than the return ON his money. When I started in the municipal bond business Illinois was a very solid Aaa credit, as it should be. Democrats have destroyed (!!) Illinois with their unique blend of corruption and incompetence. Governor Slobbo is a disgrace, but he has plenty of company in Springfield.
Selling out the unborn generations of Illinois.
Got to love Illinois.
Only a complete fool would buy any debt of Illinois. It is never going to be paid back.
Illinois is BROKE OR SHOULD I SAY BROKEN.
Good, whoever bought the bonds loses it, then. Stupid decision. Whenever IL or Chicago can somehow dupe people into giving them money, the pensioners should immediately give thanks to God. Oh wait, they by and large couldn’t care less about Him. Ok, wait for the carnage.
Wrong to steal money no matter who it is from.
If they pay the debt it will be stealing money from the next generation.
If the default, the are stealing money from Pension funds and the Federal government (tax write offs).
There is NO FREE LUNCH.
The public always pays one way or another.
If I’m not mistaken certain bondholders are protected by getting up to 90% of future sales tax revenue for up to 40 years in the event of bankruptcy or implied bankruptcy of a municipality. This even trumps pensioners. This was put in the last minute by Madigan according to Jeanne Ives in the Implementation bill. So in essence certain bondholders are playing with a stacked deck with minimum risk at the expense of others. So who would lend money to someone who is bankrupt without repayment guarantees. Mark would know more about this than I do. Mark please correct me… Read more »
I believe you are thinking of the securitized bond structure that Chicago and some other municipalities have used, whereby they transfer ownership of future sales tax income. It has not been done by the state, though some future sales tax income it gets is encumbered, though I am not sure how much.
Don’t worry, Illinois will raise the flat tax to 5.95% and that will appease the credit rating agencies. They don’t care how or from who they get their money. They just want to know that the politicians have the determination to raise the necessary taxes. These threats only help these politicians. Now they can blame the “lies” told by the No to fair tax group as well as ratings agencies. This threat is gift to democrats. “We had no choice because of the lies told during the campaign. We will propose the fair tax amendment again with a larger tax… Read more »
So you believe the amendment will not pass? I agree, but it’ll be somewhat close. And I predict 6.5%, but you could be right. I’ll be leaving the state, so who cares.
Not sure if it will pass but I don’t think it matters long term as they will eventually get it. My gut tells me that enough retirees that may vote democrat are scared about the possibility of paying income tax on their SS and retirement income and they will kill the amendment.