-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Ted was on Illinois Rising this week discussing AFSCME’s $768,000 campaign contribution to Mike Madigan and what it gets them. The average state AFSCME worker already gets $110,000 a year in total compensation, including the 2nd-highest state worker pay in the nation. Now the union wants even more out its next contract with the state.
Learn more about AFSCME’s total compensation here: What AFSCME’s $768,000 contribution to Madigan just bought
And learn more about Illinois’ pension crisis here.
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.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER