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Illinois Financial Disaster: This is Fine  

by meep

Fot those who don’t get the title:

But first, a toast to my linkers:

• Pension Tsunami – concentrating on public pensions
• Wirepoints – concentrating on Illinois & Chicago politics and finance
• Truth in Accounting – which specializes in public finance and accounting
• The Other McCain – an eclectic...

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Illinois Budget Impasse: Now It's Serious -- Powerball and Mega Millions to Withdraw  

by meep

Powerball, Mega Millions ending in Illinois due to budget impasse, lottery officials say

Lottery players will no longer be able to purchase Powerball or Mega Millions tickets in Illinois after the end of this month due to state lawmakers’ inability to pass a budget, lottery officials said Thursday.

“It is disappointing...

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Puerto Rico Link Dump: World of Pain  

by meep

I mean this in more than one way.

I’ve been having hideous pain problems for the past week, and while I can, I’m just copy/pasting links while they’re still “fresh”. I have a chronic pain condition, and it’s gotten a lot worse recently. Stuff at my other blog on pain....

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More Hartford Woes: Too Many Property-Tax-Exempt Government Properties  

by meep

Well, now that the incipient bankruptcy of Hartford is on the radar, what with Aetna moving its HQ, and other issues, all of a sudden it’s getting wider play.

For example, here’s a a piece from the WSJ. Let’s just look at the headline & subhed:

Hartford’s Finances Spotlight...

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Illinois Steps to the Edge: No Budget, Credit Downgrade, Stupid Tax Idea  

by meep

As I said yesterday, it’s a time of deadlines.

The Illinois legislature had a deadline of May 31 for a variety of things.

But first, the punchline.

ILLINOIS DOWNGRADED. AGAIN.

S&P Downgrade Brings Illinois Debt One Step Closer to Junk

Illinois may become the first U.S. state to...

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You'll Never Guess What Rahm's Plan to Save Chicago Schools Is!  

by meep

Unless you guessed “borrow more”. And perhaps tax more.

I mean, that’s what they’ve always done before. Why do anything different this time?

THE ‘PLAN’, SUCH AS IT IS

Mayor announces $389 million borrowing plan to finish CPS school year, pay pensions

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration announced...

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Not Even a Petite Bargain in Illinois Budget Wrangling  

by meep

The deadline clock is ticking in the Illinois Legislature, but they’re about as serious as they ever are. I checked in about a month ago, and there had last been something signed in June 2016.

The deadline is supposedly May 31. We’ll see.

DEMOCRATS GO IT ALONE

Senate...

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Connecticut Finances: Running Out of Other People's Money, Looking for Cuts  

by meep

It’s been a couple weeks since my last CT finance post, and it’s not getting any better.

Speaking of…

“THE WORSE, THE BETTER”

Chris Powell writes:

‘The Worse, the Better’
Could Be the Greeting
At Collapse of Connecticut
By CHRIS POWELL, Special to the Sun...

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Around the Pension-o-sphere: California, Chicago, and Valuation!  

by meep

I’m gonna be lazy today and use other people’s stuff!

Before I begin, thanks to my linkers:

• Truth in Accounting – for info on public finance in general, as well as public pensions
• Also, State Data Lab – a project from Truth in Accounting, with #s on public finance. Check...

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Puerto Rico Round-up: Trying to Determine How Bad It Is  

by meep

As some facebook statuses say: it’s complicated.

As noted before, the leaders of Puerto Rico are trying to declare some form of bankruptcy to wipe out their debts. I did some immediate roundup of reactions, but this is a long haul issue.

So let’s try to total up the...

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