Chicago

The evidence is now clear: The much-debated “Ferguson Effect”—in which heated protests lead to hesitant cops and higher crime—is real. In some cities, such as Baltimore and Chicago, these three phenomena emerged at the exact same time. Nationwide, many cities, especially those with large black populations, saw substantial increases in homicide between 2014 and 2015. And new data collected from big-city police departments indicate that the problem may be ongoing, with a 9 percent rise in homicide between the first quarter of 2016 and the same period last year.

Submitted by Michael Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

New accounting rules show Chicago has understated its pension liabilities by $11.5 billion.

At the end of 2015 the stated liability was $7.1 billion. Today it’s $18.6 billion. That’s a jump in net liabilities of 168%.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has hopes pinned on union concessions and help from the state legislature. Neither is likely.

Out of Money in 10 Years

"I always tell people I won't apologize for doing our job well,
but I do apologize to the people who found themselves stranded in
Chicago yesterday" 

-  TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger

Two days ago we showed a video that promptly became viral of what was a line at Midway Airport that, somewhat hyperbolically, stretched for miles.

As we've known for quite some time now, Illinois is completely insolvent, and in large part due to enormous pension liabilities which as of December were underfunded to the tune of $111 billion. Not only is the state insolvent, its millionaires can't get out fast enough to avoid the massive tax hikes that will be coming in what is sure to be a failed effort to plug budget holes, as well as the soaring criminality in cities such as Chicago which recently just passed the historic milestone of 1,000 gunshot victims in the fastest time in decades.

In an article earlier this month, we said that "Chicago is disintegrating" amidst soaring gun violence and homicides, in large part due to the deteriorating economic situation. Unfortunately, we now have an update to the state of things in the windy city, and it's getting uglier.