Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer
April 22, 2026
No Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
"If our shared priorities truly encompass giving every child a quality public education; ensuring everyone, rich or poor, has access to healthcare; providing vulnerable populations with services they need to lead decent lives; and having communities that are safe and clean; then our state budget needs the recurring tax revenue necessary to make those investments. That in turn means the FY 2025 General Fund budget accurately reflects statewide priorities, is balanced, and is funded responsibly."
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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
34 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.
The machines economist, martire, makes no mention of the COVID $bucks$?, or what happens when they’re gone?……who’da thunk
I can give Ralph Martire props on but a single point, his consistency. Martire is simply unapologetic about government spending. No program isn’t essential. My accolades end there. Refreshingly, Martire admits that tax revenue hasn’t increased nearly as rapidly as tax expenditures. Businesses and productive taxpayers are fleeing Illinois. Horrifyingly, Martire doubles down on the policies and “priorities” that make Illinois’ situation ever more perilous, further aggravating the exodus of taxpayers and their wallets. The fixed costs, mostly the increasing costs of borrowing and spending, represent 28.4% of total outlays. The borrowing costs are rising because Illinois keeps swiping the… Read more »
Another Ralph piece with a bunch of gaps. One thing he needs to start considering is how the state’s stagnant population is impacting revenues. Illinois’ tax base is getting smaller and older (retirees are exempt) while there are 200K less students enrolled in K-12 education today than in 2000. The state has no natural growth to overcome the impact of inflation. But he continues to cite numbers from Y2K as if that’s some barometer for what the state should be spending today. It ain’t.
Different world, Ralph. Turn off Matchbox 20.