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Three members of the Cook County Board have opened a new front in the battle over the county's controversial new tax on soda pop and other sweetened beverages, moving to limit board President Toni Preckwinkle's ability to file civil lawsuits. The measure would require advance board approval of any civil suit filed by the president on behalf the county that seeks more than $500,000. The board also would have to be notified of any suit seeking more than $100,000.
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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