Small business owner Geri Hernandez said the prospect of Chicago’s red tape “has just pushed us to seek business in other cities and counties that accept all our registrations and permits.” Red tape is “just another reason to keep my business out of Chicago and to keep growing in other counties,” she said. Audio: Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon says Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades – Chicago’s Morning Answer
April 3, 2026
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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.
Illinois lost another 54,000 tax filers and dependents, net, according to the IRS. Since 2000, fleeing taxpayers have taken $94 billion of annual adjusted gross income with them.
The only reforms will be more taxes, more regulations and more worthless public sector union members.
Think about it: If you make it difficult to do business in person, the applicant will do it online while you, as the city agent/ clerk etc, get to sit at your desk doing nothing, haul down a hefty paycheck, don’t have to worry about getting fired and can start canvassing the office as to lunch plans at 10 in the morning. Life of Riley, courtesy of the taxpayers. Oh, and a nice pension to boot.
It is brutal to do business in the city. However many state offices are also very poor as to their processes and the performance of the state employees. Went to Alexi Giannoulias’ Secretary of State office in Lake Zurich recently. It took a couple trips there to do basic titling of a new camping trailer. About half the employees there had a condescending/ entitled attitude. People behind the counter who appeared to be long-serving, struggled with basic processes or questions. Appears about 1/3 of employees know their stuff, and 2/3 had to consult with these strong employees to work through… Read more »
Sounds like some small business owners are starting to catch on…….