Earlier this year, Truth in Accounting graded Milwaukee with a “D” for its financial position as it owed $15,300 per taxpayer for its obligations. Any city with an average taxpayer burden of between $5,000 and $20,000 was graded with a “D.”

In 2023, the Milwaukee pension system reported $545.9 million in net investment income and $203.7 million in total contributions as it paid pension benefits of $466.6 million with $8 million in administrative expenses.

One analysis suggests that as many as 27 states are unable to finance their existing liabilities -- most notably underfunded pensions owed to former public employees. The most indebted states, according to Truth in Accounting, include Connecticut, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and California.

A reestablished School Finance Authority need not be as disruptive to Chicagoans as the 1980 intervention, either. It need not add yet another property tax hike on Chicagoans who already face the second-highest commercial property taxes and some of the highest residential property taxes in the nation.

Nor does it need to pile more debt onto residents, each of whom are already on the hook for nearly $43,000 in debt from the city according to a report by Truth In Accounting – the second most of the 75 cities reported. That does not include the $37,000 of state debt every Illinoisan is saddled with – the third most of any state in the country.