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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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Man, oh, man, SIU has HALF the students it did 30 years ago – a bit over 12K today per their site, as opposed to (Wiki): “SIU’s enrollment reached a record enrollment of 24,869 students in 1991, a time when SIU became notorious for its party school reputation…” Another factor might be that SIU is fairly remote, over 300 miles from Chicago, and that area is sparsely populated to start with and declining (like WIU in Macomb, which is also tanking…); now not worth the effort to get to. Years ago I considered SIU, but chose ISU in Normal, it… Read more »
SIU, formerly known as a party school with a wicked Halloween Party, has been run into the ground. No longer does it attract smart but lazy party students who want to party and do outdoor activities, but instead, it’s attracted the free ride crowd. It’s another one of these “No Test Zones” schools that doesn’t require standardized test scores if your high school GPA is a C or higher. They’ve eliminated out-of-state tuition just to try and get someone, anyone to attend. And finally, my favorite, the ‘Game Changer’ as it’s been called: SIU provides free rides for new students… Read more »
With declining demographics in terms of potential students, schools like SIU needed to be hyper sensitive to cost and mission. The students from my Lake County high school going to SIU invariably were not motivated students but as you say were fairly bright. Carbondale’s selling point was its funky vibe which over time was not valued. Athletes in the 70’s and 80’s were happy to go to SIU, and in the Olympic sports would often beat U of I. They made the Illinois Intercollegiates competitions more competitive than a few power 5 conferences. I know it’s sports, but if Carbondale… Read more »
Lol, that “3.5% increase in enrollment” is like the Biden admin crowing “Inflation is DOWN!” – enrollment is less than *half* what it was 30 years ago…