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“All options are on the table” for Mayor Brandon Johnson as his administration prepares for a significantly larger budget gap in 2025 than the $538 million shortfall he closed after taking office last year, according to the city’s budget director.
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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Simply vote RED
Conehead the Mayorbarian’s new giveaway grab-n-go grocery stores will certainly help expand this untenable deficit.
Mayor only knows how to spend MORE money. Here’s an idea: Mayor relinquishes his 150-man CPD personal protection unit, so that officers can return to street patrol. Here’s another idea: Mayor terminates purchases of take-home vehicles and all take-home vehicle gas charges paid by City of Chicago taxpayers. City employees required to use own vehicles for city business, EXCLUDING their commutes to/from home to work. Here’s yet another idea: terminate all community grants, small business loan programs, and other furtive vote-buying “neighborhood investment” programs. These programs have long history of lax supervision and poor outcomes. Only way to fix a… Read more »
Chasing down and recovering the fraudulent PPP loans by hundreds of CHI/ Cook County employees would be a good start.
I am reminded of Washington DC in the mid-90’s. DC’s budget was out of control. Although DC had at that point home rule and years of Marion Barry, the budget deficits were out of control and Congress stepped in an established a control board. They simply had to cut spending, and do so in a significant way. Because of Congress, they did not have a poor credit rating but they nevertheless ran out of lenders. A Chicago native, the late Mark Plotkin was a political media figure, very passionate and very progressive. He constantly was pounding the drum of DC… Read more »
Spot on. For other cities, some states make more aggressive use of emergency manager laws. They can be installed with or without a bankruptcy. A state has broad power to appoint an emergency manager or board to take that role. I suspect that’s what it will come to for Chicago eventually, though things will have to get much worse to shock our do-nothing legislature into action. There are success stories and failure stories from other states using emergency managers and we could learn from them how to do it right. But, as usual, that’s just dreaming for Illinois.
Maybe they should tax tattoos and e-bikes. Then there would be much more money!!!!
Probably Preckwinkle will tax suburbs to bail out Chicago.
That’s already going on; money is fungible.
Hum let me think says Brandon, oh ya it’s Trumps fault.
And Nixon.
Andrew and Lyndon were corrupt
Bradon’s crater’s about to erupt.
THIS Johnson could turn out fine
With a simple Chapter Nine.
Not his fault that we’re bankrupt!
What options? You all know what they are going to do. Get ready to enjoy all the new and higher taxes. It must not be that big of a deal because the Illinois slaves will do nothing about it.
Hmm…..perhaps we could start closing the gap by eliminating this Sanctuary City nonsense.
Even better, start taxing the illegals.