Many Chicagoans write off the relentless comparisons of their city to bankrupt Detroit.
After all, Chicago isn't a run-down, empty shell of a city. It doesn't rely on just one industry to survive. And it certainly hasn't lost 60 percent of its population like Detroit has.
Unlike the Motor City, Chicago is bustling with record tourism, a growing tech scene and a diverse economy. Michigan Avenue looks nothing like 8 Mile Road.
But to go bankrupt, a city doesn't need to look and feel like Detroit. It just needs the lethal combination of too much debt and a dysfunctional government. And those are two things Chicago has.
The Illinois Supreme Court recently made Chicago's path toward bankruptcy more likely when it ruled that modest reforms to Illinois' state pension plans were unconstitutional. Moody's Investors Service followed the court ruling with a double-notch downgrade of the city's credit rating. Chicago's bonds are now rated "junk" and are the riskiest of all big cities in the nation, apart from Detroit.
The collapse in Chicago's rating is the result of a massive spike in Chicago's debt in the last decade, driven by out-of-control pension obligations, and the city's unwillingness to do anything about it.
Chicago's four city-run pension funds have a combined $20 billion shortfall, nearly six times larger than the city's annual operating budget.
The two weakest funds are dedicated to the city's firefighters and its police officers, with the former having just one quarter of the funding necessary to meet its future obligations. By any measure, it's already bankrupt.
So is the police pension fund. It has just 30 percent of the funds it's supposed to have in its coffers today.
Six other pension funds dedicated to the workers of Chicago's sister governments and Cook County are also in dire straits.
In all, Chicago taxpayers owe nearly $35 billion in pension debt. That's quadruple what they owed a decade ago. Chicago households are on the hook for more than $60,000 each when the city's long-term borrowings are included.
But if the debt load wasn't enough, Chicago's dysfunctional leaders have done a lot to make things worse.
For starters, they purposefully shortchanged the pension funds. In 2010, for example, politicians passed a three-year pension "holiday" that allowed Chicago Public Schools to skip $1.2 billion in contributions to the teacher pension system.
They've also agreed to give generous salary and pension benefits in exchange for union political support, with no regard to whether taxpayers could afford the increased costs. That's driven up city and sister-government costs, despite an overall 14 percent cut in total employment since 2004.
Emanuel let himself get rolled by the unions during a 2012 teachers strike. He caved and signed a major salary increase when the school district was already staring at a $1 billion shortfall.
Can the city stave off bankruptcy for a few years by raising property taxes and fees?
But that was Detroit's "solution" to its problems.
Its tax hikes didn't fix anything, but instead chased even more people out of the city until Detroit finally ran out of taxpayers.
Chicagoans, too, will flee the city when they realize massive property-tax increases will buy them no new benefits - not safer neighborhoods, improved schools or better roads.
Instead, those taxes will pay for services rendered long ago and perpetuate a bankrupt system that's failed everyone from taxpayers to city workers to those most dependent on government services.
Chicago can't tax its way out of this problem.
Its debt is built on a foundation of broken promises. The only way to stop the bleeding is for workers to take back control over their retirements from the politicians who have run the city into the ground.
Detroit's bankruptcy showed workers what happens if they don't.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.