Will Chicago Be the Largest U.S.
City to Declare Bankruptcy?
PJ Media,
by
Rick Moran
Original Article
Posted By: MissMolly,
9/15/2019 4:59:07 AM
The city of Chicago is in dire fiscal and financial straits with an almost billion dollar budget deficit, bonds rated at junk status or below, numerous extremely costly legal judgments, a shrinking tax base, and unfunded public pension liabilities to the tune of an astonishing $42 billion.
Other than that, it's a great place to live.
The state of Illinois has its own financial troubles, so the city can expect little or no help there. And good luck getting a federal bailout through the GOP Senate and signed by a president who's been called a "racist" by the mayor.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Strike3 9/15/2019 6:09:58 AM (No. 180241)
It depends which one goes to the dogs first, New York, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Baltimore or Chicago. None of the above are great places to live these days. Chicago may not be the first to go but it's the worst place to live of any in the country.
12 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
seamusm 9/15/2019 6:12:01 AM (No. 180242)
Doesn't it seem as if EVERY city managed by the Dems ends up a debt-ridden dunghole? Two years ago I traveled through Illinois and after stopping at a state rest-stop I came up with a new Illinois slogan - "ILLINOIS - The Single Ply State". At least it's still single use - Yeccch!
10 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
mythman 9/15/2019 6:23:58 AM (No. 180248)
Speaking here from the Sheeple's Republik of Konnektikut: In Spring of 2018 lame duck Gov. Dannel Malloy, Budget Director Ben Barnes, and Treasurer Susan Byciwiecz (I believe), announced that the state was bailing out bankrupt Hartford to the tune of $550 million. The money was bonded. The bond rating plummeted two weeks later. Almost simultaneously, former Hartford spendthrift mayor Peter Segarra was awarded a sinecure state job with a salary of $160K. Byciwiecz is now Lt. Gov. Former Gov. Malloy was subsequently named Chancellor of the Maine university system.
9 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
StormCnter 9/15/2019 6:28:04 AM (No. 180251)
#2, may I offer a logical reason for the single-ply tissue at the state rest-stop? Probably the rest-stop had septic tanks. Single-ply is much kinder to septic tanks.
7 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
WhamDBambam 9/15/2019 6:46:13 AM (No. 180259)
It would only be a formality.
2 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
jeffkinnh 9/15/2019 6:58:30 AM (No. 180270)
Yet another object lesson as to the results of dem Rule; broke financially and in rule of law. How many lessons do we need to be taught before we all learn that the dem way is onto the ash heap of history.
The sad thing is, the hard Left is determined to get their way and no matter how well things turn out under Conservative government, they are going to be angry because THEY are not in charge.They are seekers of power and control and that is yet another reason to reject them.
12 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Lazyman 9/15/2019 7:14:01 AM (No. 180283)
The state Governments have been paying to prop all these cities up but now they are running out of funds because the suburban people who pay are fleeing to non-tax states.
This is the main reason the dims are desperate to get federal control to insure that all America pay the bills for the irresponsible.
16 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 9/15/2019 7:33:08 AM (No. 180291)
First we'll have to wait for the Sunday report of the weekend body count.
7 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
udanja99 9/15/2019 7:47:59 AM (No. 180307)
I thought they went bankrupt a few years ago.
7 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 9/15/2019 7:52:39 AM (No. 180311)
The left has always employed one philosophy: What's in it for me? Their elected leaders are first and foremost out for themselves. Hence all the corruption. It could be Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, or any other lefty bastion. It will also have a cascading effect: State governments will be in trouble. The people in charge will be rich, but everybody else will be paying through the nose. At that point look for an exodus in the business community followed by an exodus of citizens.
Btw, don't believe this will be limited to Democratic cities and states. If I were a thieving politician in a red city or state, I would call myself a Republican, and focus much more on hiding my intentions.
8 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 9/15/2019 8:37:10 AM (No. 180342)
Chicago's financial situation is quite serious. The city made its own social bed, now has to sleep in it. Illinois became a lawyers state long ago. Law and regulation is the state pastime, not baseball or anything else. Corruption is rampant. The state is losing jobs, lots of jobs, due to over-regulation and very high taxes. When the big Aftershock strikes, Illinois and especially Chicago will sadly go down in a heap of socialist failures. A mini Venezuela I expect.
11 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Strike3 9/15/2019 8:58:56 AM (No. 180361)
It's easier for businesses to fight back than ordinary citizens when cities get greedy and spend themselves into oblivion. A very successful company at which I was employed was located about a quarter mile outside the limits of a democrat, liberal, debt ridden city in Ohio. The city made plans to expand its limits to include the plant within its limits in order to reap the rather large tax contribution that the plant would be forced to pay them. The CEO told the city council that if they made that change the plant would move the next day. It worked. Individuals are easier to push around and its more difficult to sell your home and move but it's better in the long run when you do. The pain of a move is short-term, high taxes are forever.
7 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
msjena 9/15/2019 9:15:10 AM (No. 180389)
Nice thought, but not going to happen.
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
starboard 9/15/2019 9:18:52 AM (No. 180397)
Chicago is a beautiful city with a spectacular skyline and other stunning vistas like Lakeshore Drive. Many large manufacturing corporations are headquartered there for good reason. It's proximity to Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaway, the Midwest industrial belt, the Agricultural Heartland and Chicago Board of Trade, and vast transportation crossroads. Chicago is a very important American city. With all the money that is located there, it's screaming for leadership and direction to clean up the filth and crime on the south side. We can blame the Democrats all day long, BUT, where are the Republicans. Like Orange County in CA, after the the R's suffer a defeat or two, they tend to pull up stakes. NO! It's time to push through and fight. I'm hoping we can turn around some of our great cities especially NYC and Chicago. It won't be easy and will take new ideas and a commitment from a strong visionary leader, like the one in the Oval Office.
9 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
BeatleJeff 9/15/2019 9:24:11 AM (No. 180403)
I understand why Chicago elected Lori Lightweight. They wanted someone from outside of the corrupt Daley machine. But no one should have had any real expectations that she was going to be up to the task at hand. And as expected, she's merely hammering the final nail into the city's coffin. Funny, my son and I are planning a visit to the Windy City for next summer. We want to see it before it all goes to hell in a hand-basket..
5 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
hotcorner 9/15/2019 10:26:18 AM (No. 180481)
Having dealt with hundreds of failing organizations in my career, giving a tough person the authority to reorganize is the only answer. Democrats can't run anything. Look at their proposals and ask them how they will fund and implement them - nothing. And the media won't ask. That's not "who we are."
3 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
msjena 9/15/2019 10:46:53 AM (No. 180493)
There is only one reason for Chicago’s financial situation: pensions. Business is good, property values in good neighborhood are through the roof, lots of new construction. The people who are leaving are the ones in troubled, dangerous neighborhoods. It would be political suicide for any politician to use bankruptcy to reform the pensions. It’s not going to happen. Also, a Republican mayor is not going to happen. Ultimately, the state is going to have to bail out Chicago, if it comes to that. Spread the pain around.
4 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
NotaBene 9/15/2019 12:12:38 PM (No. 180580)
I have seen the mayoress of Chicago. Not inspiring.
5 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
RuckusTom 9/15/2019 1:00:23 PM (No. 180610)
The voters who brought this on themselves will turn around and vote for more of the same thing. Who's the mayor of Detroit? If you guessed a democrat, you'd be correct. Knock me on my backside surprised, he's a white dude.
1 person likes this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Smart11344 9/16/2019 1:35:54 PM (No. 181447)
It certainly would not surprise me. Self inflicted wounds have never helped anyone.
0 people like this.
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