It sounds like a good idea at first, but given the history of fiscal mismanagement and corruption under the Pritzker Administration, all sorts of things could go wrong under Senate Bill 3086, which will allow State Treasurer Michel Frerichs to invest money into the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (which currently has assets exceeding $1 billion).
Frerichs is looking to invest an INITIAL $10 million in taxpayer money this year alone in construction projects that have an affordable or workforce housing element. Supposedly, this new investment ‘tool’ will help build homes, create good-paying jobs for Illinois workers, and earn a solid rate of return for Illinois taxpayers. BUT, once this genie is out of the bottle, who knows what self-serving ‘side deals’ will unfurl for union officials and politicians alike.
Pay attention to this one, folks. If Illinois Democrats can put this kind of alliance into motion with no public scrutiny, there’s no telling how far they will go with other schemes in the future.
Read how the Supermajority Party is going to try and sell this one to the taxpaying public this Labor Day weekend: