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In Springfield, Alderman Joe McMenamin said it might not be popular, but officials need to rework union contracts to address benefit costs, something he said pushing the pension ramp out ten years won’t solve. “We’re in an absolute mess on pension financing...It’s almost like we’ve waited too long to properly fix the problem. We’ll kick the can down, kick the can again.”
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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.
“it”s almost like it is too late?” Wow! That helps explain why Illinois is in such a mess. It was too late 15 years ago when they actually could have addressed the problems. No tax money? Cut away at the benefits! Feel the pain like the rest of the “little people” in the state had to do long ago.
Bankruptcy now enough of this crap the problem cannot be fixed, even a 5th grader can understand the mathematics.