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The July 15 report from the Cook County inspector general says district trustees, whose jobs are supposed to be voluntary, are being paid, though the sums are relatively small. Between Jan. 1, 2017, and the end of last year, trustees paid themselves $34,100 in “travel expenses,” according to the recent report. Additionally, some trustees whose terms expired continue to serve.
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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So.. the trustees siphon off money from the host body taxpayers although they’re not supposed to and continue buzzing around after their time is up. Just like, er, mosquitos.
Just another taxing body delivering some service nobody notices.