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.
Article starts with quote by Sen Villivalam implying that bill is about increasing PRIVATE SECTOR WORKERS pay by protecting/expanding union collective bargaining rights–“The falling rate of unionization has lowered wages, not only because some workers no longer received the higher union wage, but also because there is less pressure on nonunion employers to raise wages,” he said. “The ability of unions to set labor standards has declined.”. But then article goes on to quote Sen Villivalam admitting bill is all about protecting/expanding union collective bargaining rights for PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS—” Villivalam said it would have minimal impact on private-sector workers… Read more »