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Chicago has big financial problems — at the city, the schools and the CTA — but you’d never know it by the modest wish list Mayor Brandon Johnson is carrying with him to Springfield Tuesday.
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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I think it was a John Prine song (or maybe Steve Goodman) who sang, “I’ve been losing so long it feels like winning. Kick me again and I’ll come up grinning.” This should be Mayor Johnson’s theme song.
I would like him to say that he is getting political friends and incompetents out of management. Shut down all the committees to “study “ issues. He just puts his friends on those committees. His wife doesn’t need an office! And maybe budget cuts to his far left policies. Stop funding illegals and require CTU does a better job educating students. Maybe then he can ask for money. Same advice to Preckwinkle.
Dear Springfield, We know Banjo is irritating, annoying and just plain out of his league in this job. Be humane. Say GTFO Before he even sits down.
Not sure I would classify requesting a billions dollars as a modest request.
The headline “big problems and modest requests”, should also say “no talent, a weak team and zero credibility”.
The State better send this pin head packing with nothing. There is NO reason, the rest of the state of Illinois tax payers should be paying the City of Chicago more money for their Transit mistakes and the financial canyon created by this pin-head mayor and governor. Saw a commercial on TV this AM telling us that we need to “call our state representatives” and tell them to vote to provide more State of Illinois funding for Chicago Transit…otherwise, there will be 40% cuts in service. From what I have read and understand their rider-ship to be (Mostly through WirePoints),… Read more »
The call needed is one advising our representatives to stop wasting money on half empty transit lines populated by the homeless, start some sort of law enforcement beyond catching thugs on platforms and quit allowing CTA/ RTA administration members to pull down more money than the president of the United States makes.