Quick Pension Analysis

Ok, so I was getting asked about this the other day both in person and in the comments about why the pensions are really in such bad shape and what the latest GASB positions mean to the funds.  GASB first. GASB Changes I did some poking around and the recent GASB...

Ald. “New Tax” Cardenas Wants $5/mo

Chicago should impose a “safety and security fee” — as high as $5 a month on homes and businesses — to generate the $70 million needed to hire 700 additional police officers, an influential alderman said Thursday. Ald. George Cardenas (12th), chairman of the City...

Less Cops = Less (Reported) Crime

In the city’s most violent districts, police officers say, they may be assigned half a dozen jobs or more—covering everything from traffic accidents to assaults—at the start of a shift. Their watches are spent racing from call to call, while anything that requires...

Police Boss: No Emergency = No Police

As Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy tries to streamline the way his department fights violent crime, he is stepping up his potentially controversial plan to reduce his officers’ load of 911 calls. Facing heat over a surge in homicides as he enters...

Compstat

I can’t believe that I have not already written a post on Compstat but I can’t find anything.  Grrrrrr!! Ok so, for those that don’t know Compstat is a system of policing accountability which originated in New York with the NYPD.  And in case you...