-- 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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What’s insulting to the Chicago taxpayer is Chicago offering anything more to the CTU over what CTU members already have, which is a fantastic salary and benefits package for a nine-month-a-year job. Many Chicagoans who work a full year would love to have such a package. Chicago resident taxes and user fees are already too high; any increase in salary or benefits to CTU members makes a horrible situation for the Chicago resident worse.