-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
"Take Illinois for example....." SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
FOLLOW US
WIREPOINTS ORIGINAL STORIES
Audio and summary Why the Holdup Using Artificial Intelligence to Cut Illinois Government Costs? – Wirepoints
May 19, 2026
10 Comments
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
Note to readers from Mark Glennon re: Ukraine
May 6, 2026
4 Comments
Everybody needs a side hustle these days, and mine is Ukraine, where I am now.
Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer – Chicago’s struggling commercial real estate and more
April 22, 2026
5 Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
Audio and summary
One of the major problems– and perhaps maybe the number one major problem– is that too few people understand the state budget. And that includes the entire legislature and all but 15 or 20 state employees. Legislators don’t have the financial, accounting or analytical skills to evaluate revenues, expenses, or the complexities of the reimbursement formulas. There are not more than 75 people in Springfield that know a hundred million, from a kabillion to a gazillion. The few folks that have the skills can manipulate the numbers, hide the problems, and create the narrative that the rest of the herd… Read more »
Most importantly, they’re not allowed to vote No.
It’s all Trump’s fault! By the way I have a bascule bridge in Chicago to sell you.
“ Take Illinois, please!”. RIP Henny Youngman.
It isn’t rocket science. Despite many historical attempts to financially defy gravity, no nation, country, province, state, city or village has ever taxed itself into prosperity. Plenty of them spent themselves into poverty. Illinois is a prime example of how not to manage demand for government freebees (both the programs themselves and the inevitable friends and pals costs) versus available cash to pay for it all. The financial imbalance might appear to work for a while. We hear the term ‘stimulus’ over and over again, along with ‘priming the pump’. In Illinois’ case, the pump never takes over, always requiring… Read more »
Excellent piece, except for the segment about global warming. It would be interesting to see an honest assessment of the impact of warmer climate on IL, including such things as longer growing season, reduced fuel consumption, reduced road maintenance cost, less out-migration, etc.
What percentage of the state income is driven by agriculture? They talk about issuing more munis, which means higher interest rates would have to be offered. And there’s the issue of future revenues already being pledged to pay off bonds AKA an assetless bankruptcy as you so eloquently called it.
Agriculture not very big based on other numbers I’ve seen earlier, though I have no numbers handy.
My understanding is that the longer growing season is offset by the fewer hours of light early and late in the season. We get one crop a year, even if we add several weeks to the beginning or end of the season. We’re not Hawaii or Florida where we can grow almost year round with steadier and stronger sunlight year round. Hence, global warming benefits agriculture better in elevation or latitude. During Greece’s classical era in antiquity, there was ridiculously warm weather, and archeologists have found evidence of olive presses high in the mountains that are otherwise unproductive today. Greeks… Read more »
I’l like an honest assessment of what difference it would make if we did nothing, at the end of the day if we all lived in caves and ate roots the .001 in 100 years difference isn’t worth it. Possibly if the WORLD signed on but it’s not so anything we do that costs money is just stupid. Live your lives the world climate is changing that huge sheet of ice that made Illinois flat didn’t melt from Mammoth farts.
First, we need to clear the air about what is happening currently without the usual Climate Cleric hyperbole. The constant drumbeat of ‘this year hottest ever’ loses its punch when you realize that those making those claims are looking only at data going back to 1983, a particularly cold year just after some of the coldest in modern times. Climate Science is about as accurate as weather forecasting: not very. I have more respect for a meteorologist making next Tuesday afternoon’s precipitation predictions than I have for the self-proclaimed ‘Climate Scientists’ who manipulate data to make it appear warmer (or… Read more »
Spot on Mark, my relatives back in Detroit say Michigan is becoming the new Florida with mild winters lately.