The city is in a tough spot, and it’s a warning sign for other cities that could be on the brink of the same. The state must provide cities the tools they need, not stand in the way. Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon on AM560: Why We Need to “Relentlessly” Make the Blue State-Red State Case
November 5, 2026
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Glennon raised the stakes of the moment in broader civilizational terms: “This election in Illinois is not about the usual pedestrian issues… it’s about nothing less than whether Western civilization survives in our democratic republic of America because [the left], just on the open border alone, will destroy the country, and now they’re bringing in the jihadists, frankly, into the party.” Audio and summary linked here.Audio and summary linked here.
New Trier High School made national headlines nine years ago as a “canary in a coal mine” for political indoctrination in public schools. The canaries lived.
Among the consequences of economic growth that badly lags national averages are billions of lost revenue every year. Yet denial reigns in Illinois, fueling the vicious cycle of demand for higher taxes.
I wasn’t aware that the rest of us are on the hook for saving a mismanaged, corrupt south Cook County municipality. Like Dolton and other neighboring communities, Harvey has a long history of political corruption and mishandling of funds, one Kwame chooses to ignore or lets legal eagles such as Lori Lightfoot attend to.
Article is paywalled.
There’s a $30 million handout earmarked for Harvey knocking around the State legislature right now.
Per the text of the.pending bill, it is NOT premised upon Harvey being formally designated as “financially distressed”.
Does the author address this?
https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus/FullText?GAID=18&DocNum=4024&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=0&SessionID=114
This is an odd situation to say the least. Harvey had to they would not qualify for distressed city status under the statute as the bar is incredibly high. In fact it is so high it mystifies why the statute is on the books. Harvey is subject to a litigation settlement in 2018 resulting in a pension intercept which causes the State to send certain proceeds due and owing to the City from the State to Harvey police and fire pensions. When the case arose, Wirepoints was all over it as it appeared clear Harvey really couldn’t afford the intercept.… Read more »
This article says Harvey’s own attorney knew the city’s request for “financially distressed ” status would be declined because the statutory requirements for such designation weren’t met. https://abc7chicago.com/post/state-illinois-department-revenue-denies-request-city-harvey-declared-financially-distressed/18837394/ In the meantime the $30 million bailout legislation has been pending in Springfield since March 2025. So what’s going on here? It’s all political theater intended to scare Harvey’s creditors into taking “voluntary” write-downs of Harvey’s outstanding debt. The message being conveyed to creditors is: There’s no help coming from the State. You better take what you can get. This will work on the small to medium sized creditors, typically those without… Read more »
1) Understatement of the year: Harvey is in a tough spot.
2) “The state must provide cities the tools they need, not stand in the way.”
I’m not sure what that means, since the article is blocked. Maybe it means Illinois should provide Harvey more taxpayer funds, because mismanagement is expensive.
Maybe it is to allow them to file bankruptcy?
Who does Harvey think they are? The CTA?
No bailouts for you!
That tells you all where the state’s limits are on how far they will go in taxing you into poverty. As long as the state gets their taste, they could care less if you starve. You have to be worse off than Harvey. Think about that.
Harvey’s “firefighter pension fund holds less than 22 cents for every dollar owed.” The comparable figure for Chicago (as of 2024) is 23.7 cents. Harvey ” diverts 32% of its property tax levy to pensions.” If I understand this chart correctly, the comparable figure for Chicago is 66%
If you are waiting for your pension to pay out over your lifetime, you might be disappointed in Illinois. 23 cents of 66 cents or 99 cents of a dollar makes no difference to the financial illiterate in springfield.