Freedomain Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Under a near crippling amount of debt and unfunded liabilities, Chicago lawmakers recently moved towards pension reform - but were denied by the courts who deemed the reforms to be in violation of the Illinois constitution.On May 12nd, 2015, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Chicago’s credit rating once again, which means that in less than two years Chicago’s credit rating has dropped seven notches under the rating agency. Moody’s also announced major downgrades for the Chicago Board of Education and the Chicago Park District debt - reducing the bonds to junk levels.On July, 28th, 2015, Fitch Ratings followed by downgrading the Chicago Board of Education’s credit rating and also noted a negative outlook for the CPS which means that further downgrades are likely in the future.Chicago joins Detroit in the illusive group of major cities with junk bond ratings from major institutions, which carries with it incredibly serous financial repercussions and increases the costs of borrowing.The difference between the two cities is that Chicago’s debt and unfunded liabilities are more than three times higher than Detroit’s were when the city declared bankruptcy in 2013.Chicago is unable to restructure its debt because the state does not allow municipalities to go bankrupt.To put things in perspective: Every Chicago household is currently on the hook for at least $63,800 in local-government debt.If things couldn’t possibly get any worse, the threat of another teachers strike is looming over the Chicago Public Schools with the expiration of the teachers’ union contract. Negotiations have not gone well.Welcome to Chicago. There Will Be No Economic Recovery. Annual Revenue vs. Expenditureshttp://chicityclerk.com/legislation-records/journals-reports/city-budgets/Number of Local Governmentshttps://www.illinoispolicy.org/reports/too-much-government-illinois-thousands-of-local-governments/Property Taxeshttp://taxfoundation.org/article/property-taxes-owner-occupied-housing-percentage-median-home-value-state-calendar-year-2010Sales Taxhttp://taxfoundation.org/blog/sales-tax-rates-americas-largest-citieshttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-cook-county-sales-tax-0716-20150717-story.htmlTaxeshttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/fin/supp_info/revenue/tax_list/personal_propertyleasetransactiontax.htmlhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/rev/supp_info/TaxRulingsandRegulations/AmusementTaxRuling5-06092015.pdfhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-cloud-tax-met-0702-20150701-story.htmlFreedom Rankinghttp://freedominthe50states.org/personal/illinoisChicago Pensionshttps://www.illinoispolicy.org/trashed-again-fitch-joins-moodys-in-declaring-chicago-board-of-education-credit-junk/Illinois’ Pensionshttps://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-pension-debt-still-ballooning/http://cgfa.ilga.gov/Upload/1114%20SPECIAL%20PENSION%20BRIEFING.pdfSpending Per Studenthttp://www.cps.edu/about_cps/at-a-glance/pages/stats_and_facts.aspxhttp://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.htmlChicago Public Schoolshttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/districts/http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/23/turning-page-illiteracyhttp://dailycaller.com/2013/06/20/chicago-teachers-union-chief-faults-rich-white-people-for-citys-education-mess/http://taxfoundation.org/article/summary-latest-federal-income-tax-datahttp://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-04-21/news/0604210147_1_lowest-graduation-rates-schools-chief-arne-duncan-school-studentshttp://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120407/ISSUE05/304079978/todays-story-problem-is-on-teacher-payhttp://www.2citynews.com/2012/02/new-6-year-high-school-program-offers.htmlhttp://progressillinois.com/posts/content/2011/06/02/numbers-cps-longer-school-dayhttp://www.illinoismirror.com/ctu-opens-contract-talks-with-list-of-demands-hints-at-another-strike/Unemployment Ratehttp://data.bls.gov/http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/supp_info/minimum-wage.htmlLabor Force Participationhttp://www.bls.gov/opub/gp/pdf/gp12full.pdfBlack/White Segregationhttp://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/Data/Report/report2.pdfSegregation and Employmenthttp://chicagoreporter.com/chicagos-black-unemployment-rate-higher-other-large-metro-areas/Illinois Employeeshttp://www.data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?sm+17Populationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Chicagohttp://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/1714000.htmlDemographicshttp://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/ILtab.xlshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/chicago-racial-demographi_n_2575921.htmlhttp://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_66.htmSource: Chicago Area Geographic Information StudyDemographics: Chicago vs. United Stateshttp://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/1714000.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdfCrimehttp://www.ucrdatatool.govhttp://www.neighborhoodscout.com/il/chicago/crime/http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/May-2014/Chicago-crime-rates/http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2014/Chicago-crime-statistics/http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2015/Chicago-crime-stats/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuliu Pop Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 At Stefan says that according to the white house 47% of chicago residents can't read and that there's a 86% percent literacy rate nationwide. But in the only page pertaining to the White House in the list of sources it said : "While the United States overall has a strong 99% literacy rate, Chicago, IL for example has a rate of just 53%. It’s a number that needs to be raised, and through her used book store, one Chicago local is helping to boost that percentage." . So there's clearly a mistake being made or I missed something. A reply would be appreciated and thank you for the effort put into making the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan C. Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Special Report: Multitude of local authorities soak Illinois homeowners in taxes A lot has been said about the budget crisis faced by Illinois - the state government itself is drowning in $37 billion of debt, and has the lowest credit ratings and worst-funded pension system among the 50 U.S. states. But at street level, the picture can be even more troubling.The average homeowner pays taxes to six layers of government, and in Wauconda and many other places a lot more. In Ingleside, 55 miles north of Chicago, Dan Koivisto pays taxes to 18 local bodies. “I pay $271 a month just to the school district alone,” he said. "And I don't have children."The state is home to nearly 8,500 local government units, with 6,026 empowered to raise taxes, by far the highest number in the U.S. Texas – whose population is more than twice that of Illinois - is second highest with about 5,150 local government units. Florida, with a population 54 percent greater than Illinois, has just 1,650, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.Many of these taxing authorities, which mostly rely on property tax for their financing, have their own budget problems. That includes badly underfunded pension funds, mainly for cops and firefighters.. . .A Reuters analysis of property tax data shows that the sheer number of local government entities, and a lack of oversight of their operations, can lead to inefficient spending of taxpayer money, whether through duplication of services or high overhead costs. It leads to a proliferation of pension funds serving different groups of employees. And there are also signs that nepotism is rife within some of the authorities.. . .On average, Illinois’ effective property taxes are the third highest in the U.S. at 1.92 percent of residential property values, only behind New Jersey and New Hampshire.... . .Illinois saw net migration of 95,000 people out of the state last year, the greatest in its history and second only to New York.... . ....in the state capital Springfield, pension costs for police and fire alone will this year consume nearly 90 percent of property tax revenues.... . .The multiplicity of local governments also affords opportunity for nepotism. Looking at the database of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, the main pension system for local government workers, Reuters identified nearly a dozen instances where husbands employ wives, mothers employ daughters, and fathers hire sons. Tha parasite class in its full glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts