How Should Chicago Address It’s Debt Crisis?

What is the least distortionary way for Chicago to stabilize legacy pension debt under its existing constitutional benefit protections?

Chicago’s pension problem stems largely from historical underfunding rather than unusually generous benefits, and Illinois’ constitution severely restricts benefit reductions.

Given those constraints, what does the economics literature suggest is the least growth-damaging mix of:

– Revenue increases

– Expenditure reallocation

– Pension fund governance or investment changes

– Intergovernmental transfers

Are there well-documented cases where cities stabilized pension obligations without mass service cuts or long-run population loss?

I’m not looking for a political debate just common sense ideas. 💡