-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
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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Curious how this would impact Arlington Heights offering any incentives to the Bears.
Remember that in a PTELL county any direct incentives such property tax break for a number of years translates to a higher tax rate for everyone else. Chicago is under home rule but Cook county is under Ptell. Here in Rockford the Lowe’s warehouse received over $13M in tax breaks over about 7 years but all our tax rates went up. Very few people know about that and years ago I brought that up at his town hall meeting and only the two of us knew anything about that. Conversations became a little testy from the attendees after that.
https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/localgovernments/property/Documents/ptellcounties.pdf