Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Austin Berg Profile picture
@Austin__Berg
Sep 16 • 4 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
BREAKING: Delayed property tax collections have forced emergency lending into Chicago’s pension funds in order to avoid asset sales.

The Chicago firefighters’ pension fund did not have the cash on hand to pay *current retirees.*

This is what insolvency looks like.

And it’s exactly why Chicago CFO Jill Jaworski and Mayor Brandon Johnson should have been screaming from the rooftops to oppose the pension sweetener bill just passed in Springfield that dropped the police and fire pensions to 18% funded—the worst in the nation.Image
Outstanding reporting by @shrutidatesingh ⬇️
Chicago is the only major city in the country without the power and process to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. Without that power, there is no incentive for government unions to come to the table and every incentive to continue piling debt onto young Chicagoans. Until we reach a breaking point. Congressman Mike Quigley, D-Chicago, raised this at his recent City Club speech.
@shrutidatesingh I discussed this in my piece with @CityJournal just a few weeks ago. city-journal.org/article/chicag… x.com/austin__berg/s…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Austin Berg

Austin Berg Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Austin__Berg

Austin Berg Profile picture
Aug 31
The longest political battle of Brandon Johnson’s tenure as mayor of Chicago came to an end on Thursday.

And despite stacking the deck heavily in his favor, the mayor lost.

How did that happen? And what happens next?

Let’s dive in. 🧵 Image
Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union have pushed Chicago Public Schools to take out a $200 million, high-interest loan for more than a year – leaving a trail of charred political capital in their wake.

Consider what happened instead of support for Johnson’s loan ⬇️

• The entire school board resigned in October.

• CPS CEO Pedro Martinez endured a months-long smear campaign by the CTU, which culminated in his firing just before Christmas.

• A majority of school board candidates who won their elections in November vocally opposed the loan on the campaign trail.

• Johnson’s new CEO, Dr. Macquline King, refused to include the loan in her proposed budget.

• The powerful SEIU Local 73 broke from the CTU and opposed the loan.

• A majority of City Council members signed a letter opposing the loan, including staunch Johnson allies like Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Jeanette Taylor.

• Chicago Public Schools’ chief budget officer warned the loan would trigger a “downward spiral” of credit downgrades, higher borrowing costs and cuts.
The mayor’s frustration culminated in remarks at a town hall meeting last week. “You put a Black man in charge of a city and all of a sudden everybody wants to be an accountant,” he said.
Read 10 tweets
Austin Berg Profile picture
Apr 29
NEW: The Chicago Teachers Union just unveiled a $6 billion statewide tax increase package.

Illinois households earning the median U.S. income of $79K already pay the highest state and local tax burden in the country.

Here they are 🧵 Image
Digital ad tax: $725M

This won’t punish big tech. It would punish Illinois small businesses and consumers by driving up ad costs. Image
Worldwide combined reporting: $1.2B Image
Read 5 tweets
Austin Berg Profile picture
Jan 29
BREAKING: Chicago’s Inspector General just dropped a report exposing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s secret gift stash. Jewelry, whiskey, handbags, and shoes—all stored in a “Gift Room” hidden from investigators as well as Johnson’s personal office. Just as scandalous: The report reveals a system with no real checks on the power of the mayor’s office. 🧵Image
2/ Chicago’s Government Ethics Ordinance (GEO) prohibits city officials, including the mayor, from accepting gifts over $50. One exception is that officials may take gifts that are “accepted on behalf of the City.” These gifts are supposed to be approved in advance by the Board of Ethics, then promptly reported to the Board of Ethics and city comptroller after they are received. The comptroller is then supposed to add these gifts to the city’s inventory. But that’s not what’s happening.Image
Image
3/ Instead, under an “unwritten arrangement” between the Board of Ethics and the Mayor’s Office that has been in place since 1989, the mayor can completely disregard the law. Under this arrangement, the mayor’s office simply makes a publicly available log book of the gifts they receive, which is kept on the fifth floor of City Hall. No prior approval of gifts. No reporting to the Board of Ethics. And no reporting to the city comptroller to put these gifts in the city inventory. According to the Board of Ethics, this informal arrangement is communicated to mayoral staff during ethics trainings. And the Board does not disclose this policy on their website. This is insane.Image
Read 11 tweets
Austin Berg Profile picture
Jan 11
In her current term as president of the Chicago Teachers Union, Stacy Davis Gates has ⬇️

🚩 Threatened a principal and former CTU delegate with physical violence

🚩 Insulted critics as “slow”

🚩 Labeled a respected local journalist as a “stalker” for reporting on her actions as the president of the single largest spender on Chicago politics

🚩 Mocked a prominent public official by comparing him to a “terrible” special education student who can’t be suspended

🚩 Called the Chicago Tribune “bullshit” and the Illinois Policy Institute “freak shows”

🚩 Killed a school choice scholarship program serving thousands of low-income Chicago children, including several who attended the same private school as her own child

🚩 Took an illegal property tax break on a home in Indiana

🚩 Failed to pay $5,700 in city trash, sewer and water bills despite making more than $269,000 a year

🚩 Improperly funneled CTU member dues into Brandon Johnson’s campaign for mayor, forcing teachers to file an unfair labor practice complaint

🚩 Spent $400K on Johnson’s signature ballot referendum to hike taxes on Chicago real estate transfers and lost

🚩 Pulled CPS students out of class for the explicit purpose of voting “yes” on that referendum, in clear violation of CPS ethics rules

🚩 Pushed for a $300M high-interest payday loan to fund a new CTU contract

🚩 Won just three of nine competitive school board elections. Nationwide, school board candidates backed by the local teachers union win 70% of the time.

🚩 Spurred local and national backlash after claiming standardized testing is junk science rooted in white supremacy

🚩 Claimed supporters of a bill to protect against closure of selective enrollment CPS schools were “racist.” The bill then passed the Illinois House 92-8.

🚩 Hid four years of union audits from CTU members. Then bullied teachers who were forced to file a lawsuit to see those audits, calling them “extreme right wing” and claiming they were associated with Project 2025.

Receipts 🧵Image
🚩 Threatened a principal and former CTU delegate with physical violence
🚩 Insulted critics as “slow” Image
Read 17 tweets
Austin Berg Profile picture
Dec 16, 2024
BREAKING: Chicago City Council has approved Brandon Johnson's record-spending $17.3 billion budget on a 27-23 vote. The budget does not include a property tax hike. It does include these tax and fee hikes ⬇️
🔴Personal property lease tax hike from 9% to 11% ($128M)
🔴Amusement tax hike on live events and streaming services and Netflix from 9% to 10.25% ($12.9M)
🔴Parking garage tax hike from 22% to 23.35% on weekdays and a 20% tax on weekends ($11.3M)
🔴Checkout bag tax hike from 7 cents to 10 cents ($5.2M)
🔴Expanding congestion surcharge on rideshare apps ($8.1M)
🔴Hiking an array of license fees, transfer fees and fines, and resident parking permits ($4.6M)
🔴More automated speed ticket cameras ($11.4M)Image
My statement on the budget ⬇️

“Thousands of Chicago taxpayers voiced their concerns to aldermen and escaped a $300 million property tax hike this year. However, it’s disappointing to see Mayor Brandon Johnson balloon the city’s spending problem instead of committing to sustainable changes. Johnson and his allies in council have worsened the tax and fee burden on already-struggling residents and businesses. Their decisions to grow the debt and rely on one-time gimmicks will be disastrous for future budgets. 

“Residents should be encouraged by the unprecedented independence of the City Council in pushing for commonsense reforms throughout the budget process, and in particular Ald. Gil Villegas’ call on the floor today for a city charter. Chicago is the only major city that lacks a city charter, or municipal constitution, which would ensure crucial guardrails and greater transparency in future city budgets. 

“Unfortunately, as the last of the pandemic relief runs out, City Hall has yet to meaningfully address the city’s over-spending problem, opting instead to hit residents and businesses with more taxes and fees. Residents have repeatedly voiced opposition to new taxes. City leaders would’ve been wise to listen.”
x.com/austin__berg/s… x.com/Austin__Berg/s…
Read 5 tweets
Austin Berg Profile picture
Oct 27, 2024
NEW: Chicago faith leaders are calling for a city charter! This is a must-read if you care about the future of our city. Image
Chicago faith leaders Rabbi Seth Limmer, the Rev. Otis Moss III, the Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and the Rev. Michael Pfleger begin by revealing one of the most flawed mental models in all of Chicago politics.

That power rests solely with the Chicago politicians who win elections, rather than the people who elect them.

“Throughout Chicago, the people are raising their voices about a host of issues. We fear those voices are going unheard and not just because of political expediency. A fundamental flaw in the design of our city allows the voice of the people to be ignored.”Image
This problem is structural.

Not personal.

Because power is not vested in the people, we have no real checks and balances in city government.

“[A]s we are painfully witnessing, the lack of checks and balances of power in Chicago has put us in a number of dangerous situations.” Image
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(