-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
A possible merger deal between Chicago’s Northern Trust and Bank of New York Mellon raises the prospect of another devastating loss of a homegrown institution—this time one with more than 135 years in the city it helped build into the financial powerhouse of the Midwest.
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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Chicago and Illinois is not business friendly. Expect, at some point Northern Trust will be acquired by another financial institution and to move their operations.