CHICAGO | Politics and Current Events

[ChiMIchael]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

of course they are.

and some will be more or less challenging depending on one's background/upbringing.

but if you follow that basic game-plan, you will radically reduce your chances of getting trapped in the poverty cycle.



few things have improved my lot in life more than getting hitched. overnight, my income went from x to 2x.

granted, that was for two people instead of one, but we we're still just one household (one rent check, one electric bill, one cable bill, etc.).

the multiplier effect of a double income household is ridiculous, but you gotta stay married because divorce undoes all of that, along with being really effing expensive in and of itself.

My issue is that I would have love to go into a F500 company HQ after receiving my degree so they could hire me on the spot.

That's not reality. It is possible to gain meaningful employment by grinding out the application and interview process, but you usually need good connections to get that big job.

Just hope that the company doesn't go under, move, etc.

Imo, getting married isn't that hard, but I can't stay the same for staying married, even if both have the best intentions initially.

You're point isn't a bad one at all but rather people are fortunate if they can achieve those steps when all is said and done.

[the urban politician]

^ Why would one need to get a job with a F500 company to have a middle class life?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by ChiMIchael

My issue is that I would have love to go into a F500 company HQ after receiving my degree so they could hire me on the spot.

"education" and "career" don't necessarily mean a college degree and a professional job title. life doesn't have to be about being a doctor or an MBA corporate climber. there are other paths.

one of my best friends went to trade school after high school, became a licensed plumber, and now makes ~$65K.

he's not rich, he won't ever drive a fancy european luxury car, he's not gonna own a mansion in the burbs with a pool in the backyard, but he's comfortably middle class and a productive member of our society.

Originally Posted by ChiMIchael

Imo, getting married isn't that hard, but I can't stay the same for staying married, even if both have the best intentions initially.

making a marriage work does require work, but so does everything else in life.

and you can do yourself some favors by waiting for a bit before getting hitched.

when two 19 year old kids get married, they're typically not yet fully cooked themselves.

the stigma against premarital sex has evaporated in our society, there's no reason to rush into that shit anymore.

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Why would one need to get a job with a F500 company to have a middle class life?

Yea, that doesn't make much sense. There are plenty of options to carve out a middle-class lifestyle (although fewer than there once were). I do think people here are applying a bit of survivorship bias with these "5 simple rules".

It ignores all sorts of fundamental aspects of one's life that impacts their path. Things so varied as childhood lead exposure, bias in the justice system, parent's financial situation, K-12 schools funded by property taxes (which make it harder for poor people to attain), etc.

I grew up in a two-parent household in an upper-middle class community with great schools (Wheaton). My parent's were there to help me with homework every night and (mostly) keep me in line when I strayed. I still had to make positive decisions myself, but my margin for error was so much larger than many other kids.

In high school, I was twice picked up by the cops for drinking in public. Luckily for me, the police took me back to my parent's house and allowed them to handle my punishment instead of the justice system. It doesn't take much to imagine the scenario playing out differently if I was a black, hispanic or arabic kid in a poor neighborhood.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by moorhosj

I do think people here are applying a bit of survivorship bias with these "5 simple rules".

yeah, i think i mispoke when i said "easiest" path to the middle class.

"easy" was the wrong word to use because it's certainly not easy for everyone, or we wouldn't be having this discussion.

the "most straightforward" path to the middle class or something along those lines would have been better.

and true to everything else you wrote. having the right skin color/socio-economic status grants one all kinds of crazy privileges and extremely generous margins in our society.

[ChiMIchael]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

"education" and "career" don't necessarily mean a college degree and a professional job title. life doesn't have to be about being a doctor or an MBA corporate climber. there are other paths.

one of my best friends went to trade school after high school, became a licensed plumber, and now makes ~$65K.

he's not rich, he won't ever drive a fancy european luxury car, he's not gonna own a mansion in the burbs with a pool in the backyard, but he's comfortably middle class and a productive member of our society.




making a marriage work does require work, but so does everything else in life.

and you can do yourself some favors by waiting for a bit before getting hitched.

when two 19 year old kids get married, they're typically not yet fully cooked themselves.

the stigma against premarital sex has evaporated in our society, there's no reason to rush into that shit anymore.

My statement wasn't to define middle-class as a corporate position. I know it's more complex than that. I was just so stating that education to career, while probable, isn't imminent, especially maintaining a career.

I have no issue with your marriage statement. I'll only add that marriage isn't able to fix 2 broken people, which is why many fail.

[Vlajos]

Remember, the median family income in Illinois is about $80K. That's not that hard for two people to do.

[moorhosj]

An actual plan for the pensions from Vallas.

Expiring TIFs

As a contingency against delays or partial success in implementing the Springfield agenda and a hedge against unanticipated expenditure increases the City could consider issuing a Pension Obligation Bond financed through the revenue windfall from expiring TIFs. This would protect the City’s existing revenue base from further securitization, while providing a substantial increase in the amount invested in the retirement systems, thereby significantly reducing the increase in the annual contribution.

A Citywide TIF would be created to capture the revenue from expiring TIFs, the revenues of which could be dedicated to pension funding.

5%, non-pension, spending reduction:

I have identified a number of specific budget areas where I believe the growth in City non-pension spending could be reduced over the next five years to provide the balance of what is needed to meet the City’s pension obligations. These areas include overtime, contractual services, worker’s compensation, healthcare, and more. Just a five percent reduction in base spending over the next five years would enable the City to meet the balance of the pension funding ramp up. By 2023, the State mandated annual increases in pension contributions will be much more moderate and financially manageable - not only as a result of the almost doubling of contributions, but because of the increasing numbers of Tier 2 employees in the system.

[ardecila]

^ Isn't a citywide TIF just robbing Peter to pay Paul, though? Now you really are choking off funding to CPS, Park District and the city's general fund, which also are relying on the growth in property tax revenues to pay off debt and keep the city running. One of the reasons (in my mind) that TIFs were defensible was because they were targeted at selected areas of the city, and a majority of the city's property fell outside of a TIF district.

Also might need some enabling legislation at the state level to allow more flexibility in how TIF is used.

I attended the Active Transportation forum last week. Given Vallas' reputation as a technocrat I was expecting a strong plan to grow CTA ridership with some policy ideas, but I was disappointed. He offered no specifics, just platitudes about the importance of CTA and reminiscing about riding the bus as a boy. Seems like he was unprepared. He promised to put out a transportation platform soon, but so far the only idea he's put out there is converting Metra Electric to a CTA operation instead of extending the Red Line. That's not a bad idea, but it's not a citywide strategy unless he wants to do the same to several other Metra lines.

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ Isn't a citywide TIF just robbing Peter to pay Paul, though? Now you really are choking off funding to CPS, Park District and the city's general fund, which also are relying on the growth in property tax revenues to pay off debt and keep the city running. One of the reasons (in my mind) that TIFs were defensible was because they were targeted at selected areas of the city, and a majority of the city's property fell outside of a TIF district.

Also might need some enabling legislation at the state level to allow more flexibility in how TIF is used.

I attended the Active Transportation forum last week. Given Vallas' reputation as a technocrat I was expecting a strong plan to grow CTA ridership with some policy ideas, but I was disappointed. He offered no specifics, just platitudes about the importance of CTA and reminiscing about riding the bus as a boy. Seems like he was unprepared. He promised to put out a transportation platform soon, but so far the only idea he's put out there is converting Metra Electric to a CTA operation instead of extending the Red Line. That's not a bad idea, but it's not a citywide strategy unless he wants to do the same to several other Metra lines.

As I read it, the citywide TIF would capture the revenue from the expiring TIFs not create “new” ones. Yes, that revenue would otherwise go into the general fund as TIFs ended, but this would dedicate it to a specific line item. It would also allow them to bond out the future value of the TIF revenues and attempt to re-amortize the payment schedule. It’s not a perfect solution, but it does give dedicated money to the pensions without directly raising taxes.

[ardecila]

^ Seems like "citywide TIF" is a misnomer, this would only act to use TIF surplus funds from existing districts. But is that really a whole lot of money, as compared to the size of the pension hole? Previous TIF surpluses have been 8-figure sums, not 10-figure sums.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by ChiMIchael

This isn't being realistic at all.

Yes it'll provide a lesser chance of poverty, but all of those steps are a process within themselves.

Yes. Life is hard. Its a lot harder if you don't try in school, get a stable relationship, or wait to have kids.

Those choices and responsibilities are what make a person's success.

My brother-in-law went straight to trade school to be a lineman after high school. After his many months in PR after the storm, with all the overtime, he made more than my gf did in her first year in her "big girl job" out of college(he almost doubled her income). My gf is from a family where her mom cut hair and her dad worked in a magazine factory for 15 years. She went to college, has a lot of debt to boot, but got a decent job out of school and now she is looking at a 10% raise this year.

My rent is around 1500 a month. If I lived alone, I couldn't afford it but since me and the gf split the rent, we can easily afford a nice place. My point? Find someone who isn't broken and don't look back. How many relationships do we see where we *know* the outcome will be toxic?

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ Seems like "citywide TIF" is a misnomer, this would only act to use TIF surplus funds from existing districts. But is that really a whole lot of money, as compared to the size of the pension hole? Previous TIF surpluses have been 8-figure sums, not 10-figure sums.

The most recent budget includes $175 million of TIF surplus, but I still don’t think that is what’s being proposed. I understand Vallas as proposing a new TIF (fund) to collect revenue when existing TIFs expire or are terminated. For example, when the Loop TIF ends its 23-year life, you would divert the next year’s TIF amount to this new TIF dedicated to pensions instead of putting it into the general fund as happens today when TIFs end.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by moorhosj

The most recent budget includes $175 million of TIF surplus, but I still don’t think that is what’s being proposed. I understand Vallas as proposing a new TIF (fund) to collect revenue when existing TIFs expire or are terminated. For example, when the Loop TIF ends its 23-year life, you would divert the next year’s TIF amount to this new TIF dedicated to pensions instead of putting it into the general fund as happens today when TIFs end.

This is exactly what Vallas is proposing. It is not a bad idea.

[the urban politician]

Rent control for or against:

Preckwinkle: likely for
Mendoza: unknown
Daley: likely against
Chico: against (he has stated such)
Vallas: likely against
Willie Wilson: so awesome that I don’t care where he stands

[the urban politician]

^ OUCH!

The Burke shitwagon is just gonna keep dragging Preckwinkle deeper and deeper into the mud

[Barrelfish]

Ald. Solis is expected to resign, according to the Sun-Times. He has been a secret informant as part of the federal investigation into Ald. Burke.

Most of the story here is juicy but not relevant to this forum, so let's leave that aside. What is relevant here is that Solis is the chair of the zoning committee, and his ward includes the West Loop and all the development happening there. He was already not planning to run for re-election, but this accelerates the timing. Any view on who could replace him and what their attitude toward development is?

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Barrelfish

Ald. Solis is expected to resign, according to the Sun-Times. He has been a secret informant as part of the federal investigation into Ald. Burke.

Most of the story here is juicy but not relevant to this forum, so let's leave that aside. What is relevant here is that Solis is the chair of the zoning committee, and his ward includes the West Loop and all the development happening there. He was already not planning to run for re-election, but this accelerates the timing. Any view on who could replace him and what their attitude toward development is?

Oh holy shit... That's huge news, it's likely that many heads are going to roll on this crackdown. Solis is literally the center of Chicago zoning clout mongering. All alderman who have struck deals under the table for zoning are officially on notice. The real question is what the Feds had on Solis to make him flip or whether he had just had enough and decided to cooperate and bring everything down around him.

When a feudal alderman abdicates the king gets to choose his successor. In other words Rahm gets to choose a replacement to serve out his term. Ironically that's how Solis got his seat to begin with. Was appointed by Daley after Medrano went to the can for taking bribes.

[SamInTheLoop]

Spoiler: The Feds have ‘stuff’ on Solis.

Also, water is wet.

[the urban politician]

Maybe that's why Solis is resigning. Being an Alderman just ain't that "fun" anymore.

Seriously, it's too bad that those developers couldn't grease him up good for that huge development on 18th (a few blocks west of Halsted) that Solis keeps blocking. That giant swath of land badly needs development. And besides, east Pilsen is already well into the gentrification process, lost cause to keep fighting it.