-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was warned Friday not to pile more “unfunded mandates” on Chicago businesses by raising the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour or supporting a stalled ordinance that would guarantee employees more predictable work schedules.
The warning came from Aldermen Gilbert Villegas (36th) and Matt O’Shea (19th) who, in addition to being on Lightfoot’s leadership team, represent Chicago wards that border the suburbs.
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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