-- 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 was a sure thing that the CTU would end up controlling the CPS school board, just as local unions control the suburban school boards too. My school board is half former teachers and administrators, and they are all chummy chummy with current administrators and teachers, providing zero oversight whatsoever, and give the unions whatever they want. Literally whatever they want. Because the unions are often the only campaign donors and paid for all of their flyers and campaign expenses.
Stunning, by contrast, today’s front page ST/WBEZ–S. Karp article on lawyers fighting to disqualify school board candidates doesn’t even mention all the CTU hired lawyers who have already successfully disqualified non-CTU backed candidates. (https://www.wbez.org/education/2024/09/06/chicago-school-board-elections-see-big-school-choice-cash-including-from-billionaires)
In a better world where most people pay attention and vote, CTU endorsements and candidates would be treated as who not to vote for.