At last week's full Chicago City Council meeting, Ald. Tom Allen (38th Ward) opposed Mayor Daley's budget and offered several proposals to raise revenue in the short-term without raiding various reserve funds.  Included among them was a one-year pause on the mayor's precious tax increment financing (TIF) system.  Later in the week, Daley lashed out at the aldermen who voted against the spending plan, telling reporters on Thursday: "Not one of them gave me one amendment to cut basic services or their theory as to raise taxes." 

On WFLD's Fox Chicago Sunday this past weekend, co-host Dane Placko asked Allen to respond.  The northwest side aldermen reprised the ideas he had put forth in council chambers and concluded: "I don't know what the mayor is talking about."  Watch it:

Here at Progress Illinois, we've put forth our own ideas for how to scale back the TIF network and return some of the diverted revenue to local taxing bodies.  Allen's one-year "pause" is an intriguing addition.  Same goes for the proposed moratorium on public subsidies to corporations.  What's not clear is whether there is any way to advance these ideas in the near term, now that the budget has passed.