My Bio
Greg Burns is a member of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, specializing in business. He previously served as a business columnist and blogger, senior correspondent and editor responsible for all business coverage. Before joining the Tribune, Burns wrote for Business Week magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University.
Read Greg’s complete CV.Current Column: Chicago Tribune — June 9, 2010
Thank you, readers
This is the final Business section column by Greg Burns, who will now write editorials as a member of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board:
Leon “Chip” Greenblatt III became a cult hero among traders years ago when he stood up to the Chicago Stock Exchange in a battle over his unorthodox strategy of selling more shares than existed in a bankrupt steel company.
Not long after, Mayor Richard Daley branded him a “slum lord” after a downtown high-rise he owned threatened to rain down pieces of its terra-cotta facade on vehicles and pedestrians.
Last year, he received a six-figure bill for civil contempt stemming from his bankruptcy case involving a landfill venture that converted foul-smelling garbage into energy in the form of methane.
Now, the so-called bad boy of Chicago arbitrage may have gone too far.
Greenblatt has provoked the wrath of Richard Posner, the heavyweight judge from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, who had sided with him in his stock-speculation gambit in the late 1990s.
At the time, Posner ruled that Greenblatt and his partners had found a legitimate moneymaking angle, despite their likely status as “reckless gamblers, sharpies, wise guys, exploiters of loopholes, even violators of the letter and spirit of the rules.”
Greenblatt’s latest effort to seize an advantage, however, fell flat with the judge. In a May 19 opinion, Posner blasted it as “phony,” “bogus,” “frivolous” and “a palpable misuse of bankruptcy,” with “no purpose other than to beat taxes.”
Read complete columnCurrent Article: Chicago Tribune — February 15, 2010
10 things you need to know about Social Security
It is among the most popular and important social programs in America, yet many Americans have only a vague idea about how it works. What nearly every American knows is that it’s in trouble.
“This program affects hundreds of millions of Americans,” said Jason Fichtner, chief economist at the Social Security Administration. “They’re paying for a system that they expect to be there for them.”
Is Social Security going under? How could it be fixed? Should everybody worry?
This report addresses Social Security, explaining what you need to know and how the system may change in years to come. The good news: Social Security can afford to pay benefits for decades. The bad news: After that, without reform, it’s up for grabs.
How Social Security works
Practically every American has a friend or relative on Social Security. More than 52 million of the nation’s 309 million citizens received benefits from it last year. That’s one in every six.
The 75-year-old program is partly retirement plan and partly insurance. About two-thirds of annual payouts go to retirees. The other third goes to disabled Americans who cannot work and to the children or spouses of people who are disabled or die prematurely. The agency employs more than 65,000 workers to keep the checks coming.
Read complete articlePast Work
Chicago Tribune Editorial — Mar. 31st, 2011
Curb tuition futures
llinois needs to cut its exposure by closing the prepaid tuition program to new investors
When Illinois collects money today in exchange for a financial return in the future, beware. This is a state, after all, with a broken pension system, massive debt and a trail of unpaid bills.
So no one should be shocked about the latest problems at a state-run investment fund that enables parents to prepay college tuition years in advance. The logical remedy: Illinois should cut its losses by closing the prepaid tuition plan to new participants, if for no other reason than to protect today’s citizens from a potential rip-off in the making.
Read complete articleChicago Tribune Column — Jun. 9th, 2010
Thank you, readers
This is the final Business section column by Greg Burns, who will now write editorials as a member of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board:
Leon “Chip” Greenblatt III became a cult hero among traders years ago when he stood up to the Chicago Stock Exchange in a battle over his unorthodox strategy of selling more shares than existed in a bankrupt steel company.
Not long after, Mayor Richard Daley branded him a “slum lord” after a downtown high-rise he owned threatened to rain down pieces of its terra-cotta facade on vehicles and pedestrians.
Last year, he received a six-figure bill for civil contempt stemming from his bankruptcy case involving a landfill venture that converted foul-smelling garbage into energy in the form of methane.
Now, the so-called bad boy of Chicago arbitrage may have gone too far.
Greenblatt has provoked the wrath of Richard Posner, the heavyweight judge from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, who had sided with him in his stock-speculation gambit in the late 1990s.
At the time, Posner ruled that Greenblatt and his partners had found a legitimate moneymaking angle, despite their likely status as “reckless gamblers, sharpies, wise guys, exploiters of loopholes, even violators of the letter and spirit of the rules.”
Greenblatt’s latest effort to seize an advantage, however, fell flat with the judge. In a May 19 opinion, Posner blasted it as “phony,” “bogus,” “frivolous” and “a palpable misuse of bankruptcy,” with “no purpose other than to beat taxes.”
Read complete article