Ted was on Illinois Rising earlier this week discussing the plan Rahm Emanuel has floated to issue $10 billion in pension bonds.
First of all, it simply won’t work. You can’t borrow your way out of a debt problem. Second, it could requires Chicago to sell parts of its financial future. To make the borrowing work, the city will have to pledge future tax revenues to its bankers. And that means prioritizing bondholders over Chicagoans in case of bankruptcy.
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Read more about Chicago’s $10 billion bond idea here: Rahm Emanuel’s latest can kick: Borrow $10 billion for Chicago pensions