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Pension debt across the five state retirement systems equaled $230 billion at the end of fiscal year 2019, according to credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service. That was equal to nearly 26% of gross domestic product, giving Illinois the worst pension debt-to-GDP ratio among all 50 states for the fourth consecutive year.
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Audio and summary Illinois bill would override local law to allow homeless living in all public parks – Wirepoints
April 14, 2026
29 Comments
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago Fiscal Crisis Worse Than Pre-Bankruptcy Detroit, HIV Surge and Public Health Threat From Open Borders Goes Unreported
April 10, 2026
2 Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades
April 3, 2026
9 Comments
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.
WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times falsely blame Texas Gov. Abbott for 2020 to 2024 surge in Chicago Latino HIV, AIDS infections – Wirepoints Quickpoint
March 31, 2026
11 Comments
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
This is of course the crux of the matter. Everything in this state boils down to this simple fact…Pension obligations now consume twenty nine percent of the Illinois budget! What does that mean for the future? This means that Illinois politicians face two unattractive alternatives. First, to continue to increase taxes and or fees and fines, which they have done over the last several years. Two, to cut back spending on government services which given that so many of these services are also set in law or required by the Federal government makes that almost impossible to do. Also the fact… Read more »