The 11 tax increment financing, or TIF, districts in the 4th Ward
took $5.6 million in property taxes from those living within the
boundaries in 2011, the CivicLab revealed at TIF town hall meeting
Monday night.
Four of those districts fall nearly 100 percent
inside of the ward and had extracted about $42 million from property
taxpayers since the start of the TIF program back in 1986 through 2011, said Tom Tresser,
co-founder of the CivicLab and leader of the of volunteer-based TIF Illumination Project.
Monday’s
TIF town hall was the CivicLab’s eighth community meeting. Tresser and
other “TIF illuminators” are holding meetings across the city in an
effort to raise awareness about Chicago’s economic development program.
The CivicLab's project sets out to find what wards are TIF "winners" or
"losers."
Craig Coleman, a 10-year resident of the 4th Ward, said
Monday night was the first time he heard exactly how much property tax dollars
local residents had kicked into the program. He raised concerns about
the TIF program’s lack of accountability and transparency.
“I
think it’s money off the books that should be put back on the books,”
Coleman said in remarks after the meeting, held at Room 43 in Kenwood.
“How do you change it, and does your alderman control this or ... who
controls the law to change this? When it’s time for the mayoral
elections, does it get swept under the rug like everything else?”
Property taxpayers in Englewood were furious upon learning at a town
hall meeting Saturday that their tax dollars had contributed at least $44 million to the
Englewood Neighborhood Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District since it
rolled out in 2001. According to data from the CivicLab's TIF Illumination
Project, some $44 million of taxpayer dollars had funneled to the TIF district between 2001 and 2011.
In 2011 alone, the TIF district siphoned $5
million from property taxpayers in the area, which would
have normally gone to local units of government such as schools and
parks, according to the CivicLab.
“The original concept is that
(TIFs are) designed to have an impact on blighted areas, and just
looking out the window, we know that a blighted area is all around us,”
CivicLab's Bill Drew said at the TIF discussion, held at the Chicago
Public Library's Hiram Kelly Branch. Read more »
The city’s tax increment financing, or TIF, program is an economic
development tool, but it should really be called a Chicago bailout for
private companies, some Uptown residents said at a town hall meeting Thursday night as part of the CivicLab’s TIF Illumination Project.
“Why
don’t we call (TIF) Chicago welfare,” 46th Ward resident Ryne Poelker
asked at the meeting held at the Peoples Church of Chicago. “Why don’t
they call it a bailout?”
Property taxpayers in the 46th Ward paid
out about $87.6 million for TIF projects in the area since the inception
of the program under former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington through
2010, according to the CivicLab’s data analysis.
More
than half of that money went to private developers for projects such as
the Wilson Yard, a retail space at 4400 N. Broadway Ave., that houses a
Target, Aldi grocery store and low-income housing units. The project
received more than $50 million in TIF funds, according to the CivicLab. Read more »
Dozens of South Shore residents weren’t too happy upon learning that a portion of their property taxes
have been used as part of the city’s tax increment financing, or TIF, program.
Tom Tresser, co-founder of the CivicLab, came to the 7th Ward, and is heading to others, as part of the volunteer-based TIF Illumination Project, which is intended
to promote TIF transparency and provide Chicago residents with a
snapshot of what the program is — or isn’t — doing for their communities.
“I
can’t believe that it’s so much money that’s out there that the
community does not know about that’s not channeling back into our
community, especially with all the schools closing,” Renita Jones, a
South Shore resident of more than 14 years, said after Saturday's
meeting. Read more »
A new report
puts in clear terms how the Tax Increment Finance program, or TIF,
strips away millions of dollars from traditional Chicago neighborhood
attendance area schools, while financing pricey new selective enrollment
and charter schools. Read more »
The Reader's Hunter Clauss just reminded us that it's Harold Washington's birthday. If he hadn't passed away in 1987, he would have turned 88 today.
To honor the occasion, you should go check out the first episode of WTTW's Chicago Tonight, hosted by the late John Calloway and featuring then-Mayor Washington. Those interested in learning more should also listen to the great This American Lifeepisode devoted to Harold.
The 11 tax increment financing, or TIF, districts in the 4th Ward
took $5.6 million in property taxes from those living within the
boundaries in 2011, the CivicLab revealed at TIF town hall meeting
Monday night.
Property taxpayers in Englewood were furious upon learning at a town
hall meeting Saturday that their tax dollars had contributed at least $44 million to the
Englewood Neighborhood Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District since it
rolled out in 2001. According to data from the CivicLab's TIF Illumination
Project, some $44 million of taxpayer dollars had funneled to the TIF district between 2001 and 2011.
The city’s tax increment financing, or TIF, program is an economic
development tool, but it should really be called a Chicago bailout for
private companies, some Uptown residents said at a town hall meeting Thursday night as part of the CivicLab’s 
Dozens of South Shore residents weren’t too happy upon learning that a portion of their property taxes
have been used as part of the city’s 
A new 