-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
As a massive foreclosure lawsuit against the owner of the Palmer House enters its fourth year, the hotel's State Street retail space is poised to be seized by a lender.The bid price shows how far the property's value has fallen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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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Tip of the iceberg.
Yeah, the pandemic; that’s what made the property value fall.
Truly awful watching Chicago fall piece by piece. I was married in that hotel.
But but but…
The fake news fraud said that Chicago hotels were booming!
What they didn’t day was that revenues were only up due to massively inflated room rates, while actual occupancy was still in the toilet.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-illinois-tourism-recovery-hotel-revenue-record-20230710-r44mho43yre2jmsvhwcweaxh6e-story.html#:~:text=J.B.,Chicago%2C%20the%20city’s%20tourism%20arm.
They had to inflate room rates. Chasing occupancy during 2020/2021 lead to nearly two full years of thuggery, pimping & parties in high end hotels, which scared away most visitors.