Illinois is headed for disaster and I don't want to be here for it (Chicago: real estate, condominium)

[MongooseHugger]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

The politicians are going to keep kicking the can down the road because none of them want to deal with it. I don't blame them because I wouldn't want to either. But eventually something has to be done.

The pensions need to be completely reworked. Anyone making over $100K/yr should get an immediate 20% cut.

Yeah, I get that it isn't fair because people were promised those pensions and likely worked for decades because of the promise of a pension. But stuff happens in life. It's also not fair that current taxpayers have to fund this mess.

Chicago is one of my favorite places I've ever lived. I'd love to stay here long term, but the financial status of the city and constant tax increases don't leave me with a good feeling.

While I agree, something that big has to be done, the ones that don't want the cuts will keep fighting it citing the state constitution requirements. We'd need 3/5 of both houses to amend it to allow a change to the structure.

[MongooseHugger]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

You'll be fine in your price range. It's those with property taxes well North of $10K that are about to feel the pinch. However, we have an election coming up this November for Governor. I haven't seen any polls yet, but I'm guessing it could go either way. If a Democrat is elected, we are pretty much guaranteed to see an income tax increase and all around higher taxes. I will be voting for the Republican incumbent, Bruce Rauner. He's the only thing keeping taxes from rocketing skyward. If a Democrat is elected Governor, that will be the final straw that will push us to saddle up and ride on to greener pastures...

I wouldn't vote for Rauner if I were you. Sure he's standing up strong on the budget, but he's also sold out on abortion funding and making us a sanctuary state, which is going to isolate loads of voters.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by MongooseHugger

I wouldn't vote for Rauner if I were you. Sure he's standing up strong on the budget, but he's also sold out on abortion funding and making us a sanctuary state, which is going to isolate loads of voters.

He's certainly not perfect and some of the things he's done have made me scratch my head, but the Democratic alternatives would be far worse.

[MongooseHugger]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

He's certainly not perfect and some of the things he's done have made me scratch my head, but the Democratic alternatives would be far worse.

Not if he lost the primary to another challenger.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by MongooseHugger

Not if he lost the primary to another challenger.

If you're referring to Ives, that's not going to happen. She doesn't have a chance.

The best bet to keep Madigan and his cronies at arm's length is to reelect Rauner.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by Al Hung

This points hits many marks for my family and I in our current situation, so I'd like to throw in my $.02.


I'd just add the fantastic selection of good eating - from dives to 3 Michelin stars. There is arguably no better eating city in the US with the Chicagoland area's range and depth.


Speaking for myself, anger is an occasional and relatively smaller portion of our reaction to the state's financial situation. More importantly, we have an ongoing sense of frustration and hopelessness that stems from the fact that it's not just corruption that is embedded in the state government, but also a culture where ineptitude and laziness seems to be accepted and cultivated. So as a democratically run state, do we attribute this to the people doing the electing ("The voters are dumb"), or to the pool from which we elect ("The state creates corrupt, inept and lazy elected officials") or something else? The outlook is not great for folks who'd like to stay and see things change.


It gets harder to make that argument when looking at taxes compared to other major metropolitan areas. (combined state/local sales, income, property):
Chicago 10.25, 4.95, 2.32
New York 8.88, 8.82, 1.64
Seattle 9.6, 0, 1.09
San Francisco 8.75, 13.3, .81
Boston 6.25, 5.1, 1.21
Atlanta 8, 6, .95
Los Angeles 9, 13.3, .81

While expectations and attractiveness of cities are subjective, you cannot say that natives of these cities wouldn't rate their own city higher than Chicago in amenities right?

As stated in my prior post, expectations need to change. What I said was:

"To come full circle, the areas taxes are among the highest because the expectations are high. It's a nice area for a reason. If true change comes, it will be by lowering some of the public's expectations and acting on it. Lower teachers salaries from $125k to $95k in those north shore communities, and lessen the per student expenditures from $26k to $18k. Spend less on the aesthetics of the city, and more on correcting the budgetary misalignment. Rather than continuously investing in the river walk, use the funds for south side educational initiatives. Re-purpose all of the money attained by the influx of tourism for tax exemptions on companies in verticals that are causing rapid growth (namely bio/R&D/tech)."

As for your comparison, the three largest metros have the three highest tax rates (when aggregated, admittedly an imperfect scoring system). Don't see huge disparity at all, do you? Each of which have their major flaws, though Chicago likely leads the pack. It's still the cheapest of the bunch, when taking into consideration home costs (and in turn, valuation based property tax). So, people can run to southern cities and sun belt towns.. Not for me. And if you're running to the coasts, the only advantage is a stable housing investment. It's not going to be cheaper, that's for sure.

And to your last comment, I think New York prioritizes their budget a tad differently. As a minor example, can you imagine the amount of money that Chicago spends on the daily cleanup initiative deployed by Daly decades back? NYC isn't doing it, unless my eyes are failing me. Guess what? Nobody in NYC gives a rat pooper about some cigarettes on the sidewalk.

[Al Hung]

I'm not sure you can realistically ask and expect people to lower their expectations of where they live, especially those who have lived in those areas for a while or feel like they've made significant investments or sacrifices to live there.

Speaking of lowered expectations, it is not possible (for me at least) to expect any less of our current crop of politicians than I do now. And that goes to my core question: current situation aside, is there any hope that anything can be done by *anyone* to address the issues that many believe are going to financially cripple this state? I feel like the answer is "no", short of finding some way to allow for a state to declare bankruptcy.

My last comment was more about subjectiveness than budget. The things that people like about a city but do not necessarily have any control over - eg. availability of public recreation areas, access to diverse eating options, skyline, natural beauty, etc. My bet is that you'd get as many NY'ers ranking NY as #1 as Chicagoans ranking Chicago.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by Al Hung

I'm not sure you can realistically ask and expect people to lower their expectations of where they live, especially those who have lived in those areas for a while or feel like they've made significant investments or sacrifices to live there.

Speaking of lowered expectations, it is not possible (for me at least) to expect any less of our current crop of politicians than I do now. And that goes to my core question: current situation aside, is there any hope that anything can be done by *anyone* to address the issues that many believe are going to financially cripple this state? I feel like the answer is "no", short of finding some way to allow for a state to declare bankruptcy.

My last comment was more about subjectiveness than budget. The things that people like about a city but do not necessarily have any control over - eg. availability of public recreation areas, access to diverse eating options, skyline, natural beauty, etc. My bet is that you'd get as many NY'ers ranking NY as #1 as Chicagoans ranking Chicago.

To review, people are frustarated with the corruption, and the consensus seems to be that it's the driving force behind the current debacle in the state. What % of this episode is cause and effect related to corruption? And what % relates to other misses? Some people point to corruption, some people pretend like everythings perfect, and some people sit here and brag about their school systems and beautiful towns while complaining about their taxes (which are no different than other metros of its size).

My 30,000 foot suggestion would be to address expectations. We all agree that higher taxes have a negative effect on investment, but at this point, you can't reduce the taxes without further digging a hole. So, the way the money is spent needs an adjustment. When you have schools in the city closing in hoards, and gym teachers in New Treir making $130k, you can realistically ask people the lower expectations. Yes. When your city is on the verge of bankruptcy, are you really unwilling to bend of the ways we spend tax dollars? What if it means that your homes, Mr. Resident, are gaurunteed to devalue as a result?

Stop f*cking civil projects that don't give residents ROI. Enough of the river walks. Enough of making sure the sidewalks are clean enough for residents to eat breakfast off of. Pour money into universities tech programs. Offer the world to attract biopharma companies. Stop giving your large corporations exemptions to move downtown while small and medium business are forced to take on tax burdens. A decline in private investment lowers the marginal product of labor, reducing the value of employment prospects. So invest in the private sector, and STOP investing in the public sector. Little things like minimizing highway lights by 50% could prove to go a long way, too.

Only 5/13 metros in Illinois have recovered to a pre-recession number of private sector jobs. The rest of the country is running with private sector growth. So you can sit there and take it, or you can fight your way into verticals that are boosting local economies. Is it corruptions fault that Raghleigh is eating our lunch in the tech sector? Is it corruptions fault that some schools districts are up around $30k p/student expenditure, while other equal performing schools in other states are around $13k? Is it corruptions fault that residents are more interested in keeping the green spaces downtown beautiful than they are in figure out a way to pay off these pensions?

And I don't understand your last point. So I don't know how to respond.

[Jandrew5]

Chicago is a city I'm definitely going to consider after graduate school, and UI is a school I'm considering as well. Visited Chicago for the first time in October and fell for the place. Is this thread just being hyperbolic or is Illinois' issues really that bad and Chicago living may not be so rosy for future residents?

[damba]

Originally Posted by Jandrew5

Chicago is a city I'm definitely going to consider after graduate school, and UI is a school I'm considering as well. Visited Chicago for the first time in October and fell for the place. Is this thread just being hyperbolic or is Illinois' issues really that bad and Chicago living may not be so rosy for future residents?

It’s mostly gloom and doom. With a graduate degree, you should have less trouble finding a job here. What types of employment would you be seeking?