Last week, we credited 42nd Ward Ald. Brenden Reilly for his opposition to the proposed creation of a sixth tax increment financing (TIF) district in his booming downtown ward. Today, the Tribune editorial board chimed in, calling out Mayor Daley for attempting to exploit a legitimate economic tool to further subsidize deep-pocketed corporations. From their piece, headlined "TIF Gone Wild":

TIF districts are meant to help revitalize areas that wouldn't otherwise be attractive to developers. By designating an area a TIF, the city lays claim to new tax dollars generated by rising property values there. That money is supposed to be plowed back into the district to promote growth.

But the proliferation of TIF districts in Chicago and the mayor's insistence on cutting the deals in private don't sit well with taxpayers, especially with the city's operating budget in tatters. TIF districts cover a third of the city; they raise and reabsorb hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes each year. Taxpayers are starting to ask whether all that money would be better spent on other things -- and why Daley won't come clean about what he's doing with it.

Reilly's ward had six TIFs when he was elected in 2007. He believes, and we agree, that they can be an effective development tool. But the public skepticism is well founded. "We have to demonstrate that it can be used appropriately, with restraint, and on worthy projects," Reilly says.

As the Tribune notes in their lede, one of the major structures in the proposed "East Loop" TIF district is the Aon Center, which is managed by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.  As the Sun-Times reported last week, Jones Lang is leading the charge for the new district.  And wouldn't you know it, while the proposed district was drawn to encompass 34 buildings, the Aon Center was among the five structures that would have actually benefited from its creation.

Considering their close ties to city hall (procurement records show that they have scored up to $18 million in consulting and property management contracts since 2000), Jones Lang probably expected their plan would advance easily. Thankfully, Ald. Reilly wasn't buying it, as the Tribune editorial board notes:

Reilly met with the owners who were pushing for the TIF to discuss how they proposed to use the money. Their plans were mainly designed to retain and attract tenants, he says, and would have eaten up almost all of the money generated by the TIF, with little left for the other 29 buildings. "Basically, they already had this money spent," he says. The result would be a competitive advantage, subsidized by neighboring properties -- and by taxpayers citywide, who would have to make up for the money that went into the TIF instead of the operating budget.

Hopefully, Reilly's action is a harbinger of a new era in which public officials work to rein in Mayor Daley's vast TIF network, rather than expand it further.