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Rockford ranked first because its mix of tool-and-die shops, logistics firms and health care providers makes it a bellwether for working-class Illinois, said MarketBeat. “When job postings dry up or foot traffic in service businesses slows, Rockford usually reflects growing economic caution,” MarketBeat said in a news release.
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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.
Governor WIDE-LOAD is sure to brag about that
There is a reason for the devastation of these once thriving cities: highest in nation property tax rates. P-tax rates are capitalized in property values (high rates=low property values). High tax rates are not the only economic investment killer: attached hidden debt lien on all Illinois property due to unfunded public pensions and the chilling effect of political crony capitalism (no honest competitive bidding allowed). Illinois has many similarities to Gaza. A terrorist government (which decides whom to attack based upon religion and political affiliation, and refusal to bend the knee) was duly elected and remains in power. Region is… Read more »