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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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Taxpayers have no right to complain until and unless they understand property tax law: All property values are to be assessed on UNIFORM standards.Taxes levied are to be divided amongst all property values, determining rate.Levy/EAV=Tax Rate.The “E” in EAV stands for Equalization Factor.Equalization Factor is a percentage rate applied to ALL properties in that taxing district. Equalization Factor tremendously impacts fair-assessed properties more than unfairly underassessed properties. Equalization Factor is derived by comparing assessed values to actual sales prices of properties; so that for example if Pritzker toilet mansion were sold at a vastly higher price than its assessed value,… Read more »
Well the tax rates, tax system and assessor are all voted on by the citizenry wat is the problem? I should add that based upon the taxpayer’s age they get an additional homestead exemption so it could be worse…
There’s a little trick I learned a few years ago to get your taxes lowered. Just remove the toilets.
So basically these people were paying less than they should have been for years and now they are complaining that they need to start paying their fair share. No wonder so many Chicago residents vote for candidates that support every spending initiative. In their mind, someone else should pay and up until now that’s been the case. Well the gravy train has ended and it’s time to start to pay what you owe. They should consider themselves lucky that they don’t have to pay back taxes that they should have been paying all along.
LOL, Kaegi gets to decide what “fair share” is and its basically heavily on equity i.e. the color of one’s skin.
He does get to decide. That’s exactly what that office does. Kaegi ran on “bringing change to a broken property tax system that was stacked against middle class residents”. This certainly is change. This is what the people voted for. One of the taxpayers in the story has been paying on their property as if it was valued at 400k instead of 1.2 million. Now those residents that have been getting a sweet deal need to start paying their share based on the real valuation. Hard to feel sorry for them. They ordered up a sheet burger and that’s exactly… Read more »
I feel like there is are two PPFs: one that posts logically coherent well thought out posts like this. And the other PPF that rants like a crazy old codger screaming “MUH PENSION!”
My comments around pensions are very consistent. Anyone that wants to steal from pensioners is robbing Illinois voters of the opportunity to learn from their past mistakes. They would also be stealing from retirees for no other reason than they don’t want to pay additional taxes. Too many on here want to place blame on teachers, firefighters or police officers when those people are only getting paid for services performed. The voters have been negligent in their voting behavior and the state is suffering financially as a result. Some of these same ignorant voters now want public employees to suffer… Read more »
I don’t feel bad for Teresa Fraga, her fixed income is probably sufficient.
Teresa Fraga is a Mexican-born teacher, community organizer, and activist in Pilsen, Chicago. She is an executive board member and the treasurer of Pilsen Neighbors Community Council (PNCC), and the co-chair of the Pilsen Planning Committee.
As a former Will and DuPage County resident (no longer living in Silly-nois) in the words of Bruce Willis in “Die Hard”: “Welcome to the party pal!”
Zero sympathy. Those of us in the collar counties were soaked on property taxes for years before Chicago got hit.
Pay up, Suckas!
Taxes are needed to pay for the HUGE pensions. Luxury homes in Punta Gorda, Fl are going up in value since all the Chitty of Chicago cops move there ASAP. There is a HUGE PENSION TIME BOMB going off and this is nothing compared what the future has to bring. Taxes will double every 5 years and still will not be enough to cover the greed and lust of money from the cops, teachers and firemen. The only way to avoid being killed by high taxes is to buy one last tank of gas and take it as far as… Read more »
Yep, and leave any Democratic Party voting habits behind.
My sympathy only goes so far. I have a pretty good guess who these people voted for and the outrageous tax bills are the result. When the Dem mob wants what you have, they will tax/regulate you until you concede. This is straight from the D’s playbook.