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"This article provides the legal basis for Illinois and other states to justify needed and reasonable modifications of public pension benefits that are unaffordable and insurmountable through pension reform legislation or a Constitutional Amendment. This article discusses and explains why all states can learn and should follow what the U.S. Supreme Court and virtually all state courts have vigilantly protected as the necessary and required attribute of government for the benefit of all."
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WIREPOINTS ORIGINAL STORIES
Audio and summary Illinois bill would override local law to allow homeless living in all public parks – Wirepoints
April 14, 2026
29 Comments
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago Fiscal Crisis Worse Than Pre-Bankruptcy Detroit, HIV Surge and Public Health Threat From Open Borders Goes Unreported
April 10, 2026
2 Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades
April 3, 2026
9 Comments
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.
WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times falsely blame Texas Gov. Abbott for 2020 to 2024 surge in Chicago Latino HIV, AIDS infections – Wirepoints Quickpoint
March 31, 2026
11 Comments
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
“A partner at Chicago’s Chapman & Cutler, James Spiotto, charged clients for more than 5,471 hours in a single year – about 15 hours a day, every day. Called “possibly the hardest-working lawyer in America” by his colleagues, Spiotto claimed to have pulled 52 all-nighters in a row in 1993, working on bankruptcy matters. Spiotto is still a partner in good standing at Chapman & Cutler. Firm managing partner John M. Dixon would not explain how Spiotto could have spent virtually every waking hour of his life doing billable work, adding that “No clients were hurt and no clients complained.”… Read more »
You are familiar with the term “ad hominem argument,” correct?
I heard Spiotto would blast “Whoomp! There It Is” over and over during those all-nighters while wearing a Montreal Expos cap.
I have just one question regarding this article. Why are the “police powers” that are supposedly reserved for sovereign governments only to be invoked for breaking pension contracts? Why can’t they be used to unilaterally break other contracts such as for payments owed to bondholders, suppliers or current employees? Even more broadly, If we allow governments to be all-powerful and do whatever they want, regardless of explicit constitutional prohibitions, provided that they claim it is for the public good, what is to prevent a future Democrat-run federal government from taking away people’s guns, for example? This sounds to me like… Read more »
Your first question is a good one respecting equitable treatment of all creditors. Your other questions are spurious: The police power does not allow governments to be all-powerful; the limitations on the doctrine are strict and have been laid out by the courts.
In Puerto Rico, the bondholders, who notionally proceeded under the belief that they were secured, are going to take quite a haircut, with the latest in time investors facing a 40 percent or so recovery. Most pensioners are slated to receive 91 percent, with some at a full recovery. As regards Puerto Rico, Mr Szakmary’s concerns over the abuse of dictatorial power would be in support of the bondholders – a curious position i would think for him. (I feel no sympathy for bondholders as they chased yield and ignored obvious risks, just as with Illinois creditors). I am not… Read more »
Bondholder haircuts involve a loss of principal and [if they are not simply cashed out] possible loss of future principal and interest. However, this type of haircut has the virtue of being fairly predictable in cost to the municipality. In Detroit and perhaps in P.R., pension haircuts were provided by cutting back monthly retirement income benefits and health benefits. This type of haircut comes with the peril of actuarial assumptions. In Detroit, outdated actuarial tables were used and the city already faces a pension funding deficit with the possibility that another bankruptcy will be needed down the road … where… Read more »
Cass – great points, and food for thought. I am skeptical that a court (or a court approved settlement) will see a cram down to cash lump sums on pensions. That is the best concept for taxpayers, as it relieves them of the risks of future mismanagement.
And ironically, most pensioners might take the lump sum; and most of those will likely blow all of it in a few years.