-- 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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It’s also worth mentioning that, in my area, many rental properties are owned by city employees ( probably bought with their generous, taxpayer funded salaries). I had the experience of watching a fire captain ( chief? ) watch roofers put a new roof on his apartment house from the comfort of his city vehicle one day. The mayor of Joliet recently swung a deal for 140 new homes to be built on a tract of land owned by himself and a business partner of a huge rental / realty company. Cozy.