-- 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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TX is the new Chicago. It’s the lynchpin in the NAFTA zone, central trade hub, seaport, energy capital and shining beacon of free enterprise. Chicago had everything going for it, every geographical advantage except a deep water port, and it squandered it. It even managed to squander the rail advantage. TX and FL have shown you the way forward and IL / Chicago continues to do the opposite. Every metric from population, airtravel, GDP shows continued decline.
Folks, pre 9/11 flying was fast and cheap. Used to go to Detroit on Braniff out of Midway for the weekend for $60 round trip.
Fast forward 20 years. It’s less hassle and cheaper to drive to Detroit and with delays is often faster.
I don’t Pete Buttigege is gonna be of any help either…..
Having traveled through O’ Hare multiple times this year, it is not a pleasant or welcoming experience. A lot of employees there have an entitlement attitude. TSA is obnoxious. Restrooms and restaurants are too small. The peoplemover breaks down, and has no backup. Compare the expanded international terminal 5 to the new terminal in Salt Lake City. Not even close. Stuck in time while most other places are elevating the experience. The world is starting to really notice we put our money into pensions rather than providing pleasant experiences to attract people here.
O’Hara has been on my $hit list for 20 years. Even before it became a homeless shelter. United delayed me 7 hours for a 45 minute flight to Detroit. They had the temerity to give me a $5 food voucher for the delay and $5 didn’t buy you anything at O’Hare 20 years ago. You might get a bottle of water now.
I had a truly third world experience arriving a couple weeks ago on Austria Airlines flight managed on the ground by United Airlines. It took over two hours to get baggage. Customs and immigration were ridiculously overloaded. No explanation about anything except one guy, not on the PA system, saying they were understaffed. I’ve been to the third world and been through customs literally hundreds of times (having worked as a courier when I was young). It was worse than anything I have seen.
Here are some reviews that buttress your statement: https://www.airlinequality.com/airport-reviews/chicago-ohare-airport/ “Very dirty, rude staff”B Fara (United Kingdom) 17th May 2023 We arrived from Munich airport, where it was very clean, organized and smooth process to get to our gate and board the plane. Arriving to Chicago O’Hare was a shock. Very dirty, rude staff who were yelling at everyone. It is not my imagination to say there were at least 5000 passenger entering this big area (under construction!) and there were only 5 officers checking passports. We all pretty much missed our connecting flights and had to scramble to get a Hotel for… Read more »
The SLC domestic terminal is brand new and nice, but really poorly designed. There’s that really long tunnel underneath the airport to go from one terminal to the other, it’s go to be close to half or 2/3rds a mile walk, it’s filled with porters pushing people in wheelchairs or driving them on cars. The locals complain about that long walk too.