The Bally’s ripoff – Wirepoints
While Bally’s explicit racism was clearly unconstitutional, it wasn’t what really bothered us about its securities offering. What really got us was that it was sold by Chicago officials as an opportunity for them to build “generational wealth” and was a “benefit to the black community.” Hogwash. The offering is complex and risky as hell, from everything we can calculate.
Illinois lawmakers pay themselves nearly $100K for a bottom-of-the-barrel performance – Wirepoints
Illinois lawmakers continue to reward themselves handsomely for failure. Illinois ranks among the worst nationally on a host of financial, economic and taxation metrics, and yet the same lawmakers that put Illinois in that position keep hiking their own pay, pushing their total compensation well above $100,000 for what is effectively part-time work.
Chicago aldermen exploring new city taxes and fees to boost revenue – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo
A Google survey circulated by Ald. Will Hall, head of the Subcommittee on Revenue, asked aldermen to respond “Yes” or “No” to the following ideas: “Sales Tax on Services; Property Tax (CPI Increase); Monthly/Wireless Plan Tax; Increase in LGDF Share; Head Tax; Alcohol Tax; Checking Bag Tax; Video Gaming Tax; Grocery Tax; City Sticker Increase; Congestion Tax; Income Tax Surcharge; Package Tax; Vacant Lot Tax; Ticket Reseller Amusement Tax; Enterprise Zones.”
To speed Chicago’s lead pipe replacement, end the obscene overcharge it’s paying – Wirepoints
Pay what’s reasonable to get more pipes replaced more quickly. Instead, Chicago is paying multiples of what it should cost. It’s inexcusable.
Governor Pritzker, put up or pipe down on false claims about ‘carnival barkers’ – Wirepoints
Gov. JB Pritzker’s fact-indifferent routine for dismissing criticism reached a new low last week. “Carnival barkers,” his standard response to any critics, apparently now includes the Wall Street Journal, or at least sources like Wirepoints that they cite.
End of whistleblower proceeding on Jenny Thornley matter illustrates limited value of whistleblower law – Wirepoints
An Illinois appellate panel last week affirmed a trial court ruling dismissing Emily Fox’s whistleblower action in the Jenny Thornley saga that we’ve covered closely.
Forget reading and math. Chicago’s Lightfoot wants CPS students working on her reelection campaign. – Wirepoints
A possible ethics slip-up involving attempted recruitment of Chicago Public Schools students into incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s re-election effort may or may not result in formal findings against her campaign, but it sorely underscores her misplaced priorities in education and ethics as her tumultuous first term draws to a close.
Plaintiffs Step Up Fight For Cases To Be Heard in Jenny Thornley Scandal But Attorney General Kwame Raoul Still Covering It Up – Wirepoints
Why would Raoul be covering up a scandal that points directly to Pritzker’s office? Surely it has nothing to do with Pritzker’s campaign giving Raoul’s reelection effort $1 million this year and $3 million to his initial election in 2018, right? Not in Illinois.
Pritzker said there should be accountability for worker’s comp fraud. Where is that for Jenny Thornley and Pritzker’s staff? – Wirepoints QuickTake
“If somebody committed workman’s comp fraud, they should be held accountable,” Gov. JB Pritzker said about allegations respecting Jenny Thornley and Pritzker’s staff. Where’s the accountability?
We need more answers and less deflection about the Jenny Thornley affair – Wirepoints on 890 WLS
Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon and the Steve Cochran Show discuss the Jenny Thornley affair and how Kwame Raoul and Gov. Pritzker laughed off the serious questions brought by NBC5’s Mary Ann Ahern.
Deeper into the hole he dug goes Attorney General Kwame Raoul on the Jenny Thornley matter – Wirepoints
Here’s the latest film-flam on the Jenny Thornley matter. Smirking questions off the they way you can see Raoul and Pritzker do in the video won’t fly.
Questions Mount Over Pritzker Administration’s Involvement In Thornley’s Alleged Fraud – UPDATED – Wirepoints
The Pritzker Administration has offered no answers and the questions have become still more serious thanks to additional allegations and evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit recently unsealed and made public.
The sickening laundry list of corruption cases in Illinois continues to grow. Is this any way to govern a state? – Wirepoints
“The sheer number and political stature of the Illinois elected officials and business leaders who were implicated, indicted or convicted in 2020 is staggering.” How much longer will Illinois – and especially Cook County taxpayers – accept public thievery as part of the due course of things?
Want to kick out Kim Foxx? First, demand a statewide rule to allow the recall of local officials – Wirepoints
The idea of a recall has been discussed, but in Illinois there’s no statewide process for a recall vote of a public official like Foxx. Compare that to San Francisco, where they just booted their DA in a recall vote in June.
Illinois has been bleeding its wealthiest residents for years. Now it’s Ken Griffin’s turn to leave. – Wirepoints
“First and foremost, respect the taxpayer. Start losing taxpayers and it’s a downward spiral from there.” Illinois politicians aren’t heeding that advice. Now their failures are pushing out the state’s wealthiest resident. Ken Griffin is moving to Florida and he’s taking his company, Citadel, with him.
The Illinois Political Establishment’s Shameful Response To The Departure Of Ken Griffin And Citadel – Wirepoints
So here we are. Illinois is now more equal. And poorer. The political establishment has one less opponent to worry about. The planet indeed evolves, as Griffin’s wing at the Field Museum shows. Just not always for the better.
$1.9 billion of Illinois unemployment insurance fraud reported in new audit, but full scope of the fiasco is likely vastly higher – Wirepoints
A new, independent audit conducted for the Illinois Auditor General found that Illinois lost to fraud over half of $3.6 billion of federal money that went to the state for it to administer under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA) — $1.9 billion lost to fraud. But there’s far more.
Illinoisans pay the nation’s highest property taxes but don’t get quality services. Instead we get more debt, crime and corruption. – Wirepoints on with WVON’s Perri Small
Ted Dabrowski appeared on The Perri Small Show to discuss Wirepoints’ latest report: “Thirty years of pain: Illinoisans suffer as property tax bills grow far faster than household incomes, home values”. Ted pointed out that any way you cut them, the property taxes Illinoisans pay are punitive.
Epic unemployment insurance fraud during pandemic is still being stonewalled by State of Illinois – Wirepoints
How unemployment claims were mismanaged during the COVID pandemic is shaping up as a monumental fiasco. It’s therefore no surprise that the State of Illinois is stonewalling the facts about its share of the problem so aggressively.
A weary Chicagoan retreats, and hopes for better times ahead – Wirepoints
Several Chicagoans we’ve spoken to recently have said they feel their city is being stolen from them, and they want it back. But real political leadership has gone missing and their patience is wearing thin.
The Covid bailouts can paper over Illinois’ fiscal mess, but they can’t hide Illinois’ GDP, employment and population failures – Wirepoints
While “free” federal money might make Illinois’ finances look better temporarily, the state continues to struggle where it really matters – economic growth and job creation. Since the beginning of 2019 when Gov. Pritzker took office, Illinois has continued to lag most of the nation in GDP growth and its unemployment rate remains one of the highest in the country.