A Blizzard of Incompetence that is making living in Chicago less affordable.
Shortchanging Chicago’s pension systems is a recipe for further downgrades. That means Chicagoans pay higher interest to cover more bad decisions.
If Mayor Johnson fails to make the full supplemental pension payment, he risks leading Chicago toward further downgrades of the city’s credit rating.
Mayor Johnson isn’t just kicking the can to the next administration with this skipped payment. He’s essentially kicking city workers who rely on their pensions and kicking the taxpayers to foot the bill for skyrocketing borrowing costs.
His refusal to get our fiscal house in order signals a complete lack of serious, long-term leadership.
The hard but honest truth is that at our current levels of underfunding, if the stock market catches a cold, Chicago’s underfunded pensions will leave us facing chronic pneumonia.
We simply cannot protect the city’s financial health by taking a holiday from our core fiscal obligations.
The bills must be paid. And Chicago must get serious about electing a Mayor who treats their money with more respect.”
