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Activists had begged the city not to allow the demolition, but it instead proceeded with representatives from the city’s Department of Health, Buildings and Fire Department on hand to watch. The city had an active role in the demolition, Mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged, by approving permits and overseeing the work Saturday.
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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Guessing a whole lotta union workers were executing this demolition and responsible for its mitigation, from the construction trades to CDOT to firefighters and beyond. All this preaching about the power and value of highly-trained union labor, nevertheless the end result was a cloud of toxic dust.
This cannot be caused by pure incompetence. The only explanation that makes any sense, to me at least, is racism, pure unadulterated racism, stemming from centuries of inequities, starting at the top with Trump and the federal government.