-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
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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In Illinois you pay for your house twice. Once for the mortgage and once for property taxes.
“Illinois Property Taxes Among Highest in Nation – Civic Federation”
Really? Why, you must be kidding. I’m shocked. When did this start happening?
Another relevant metric by which to measure the stunningly high property taxes in Illinois: property tax as a percentage of household income. In Woodstock Illinois the 3.6% property tax rate demands about 10% of household income. All across America, households spend less than 4% of income on property taxes. That extra 6% of household income demanded in Woodstock (primarily due to profligate spending by school district, and vast TIF coverage of commercial real estate in Woodstock) puts families to the choice: choose to keep your house or your family pet. Choose between keeping your house or saving for retirement/college. And… Read more »