Explore our content

All types | All dates | All authors
Tax Increment Financing
Quick Hit
by Josh Kalven
11:56am
Fri Feb 5, 2010
1 comment

$200 Million? Seriously?

In case you missed it, the Sun-Times' David Roeder reported on Wednesday that the owners of Chicago's Willis Tower have been seeking $200 million in tax increment financing (TIF) funds to renovate the skyscraper and build a hotel next door.  This comes after the city council already approved nearly $40 million in Willis-related TIF subsidies over the past year.  Apparently, Ald. Bob Fioretti told the building owners to "curb" their appetites for public funds and now their request has fallen to a paltry $100 million. But the fact that they initially asked for $200 million -- all with a straight face  -- is the latest evidence of how perverted Mayor Daley's TIF network has become.

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
12:49pm
Mon Feb 1, 2010
1 comment

The Latest In TIF Reform: Burke's Living Wage Measure

TIF

While Wal-Mart has long been criticized for paying low-wages, the mega-retailer's insistence on expanding its reach in the Chicago market could end up lifting the floor on wages in those large swathes of the city made up of tax increment financing (TIF) districts.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
1:36pm
Fri Jan 29, 2010

Daley's Own "Class War"

State Budget

This week, Mayor Richard Daley derided the state of Oregon for approving two ballot initiatives that raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy to plug a portion of the state's budget hole, describing it as "class war."  But if Daley really cares about tax fairness, he should look at how the wealthy avoid paying their fair share here in Illinois.

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
1:55pm
Wed Jan 20, 2010

Will State Lawmakers Take On TIF This Year?

Taxes

For years, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has played fast and loose with the state's tax increment financing (TIF) laws. Aside from creating dozens of districts in areas that are far from blighted, the mayor has used the vast TIF network as a shadow budget, avoiding oversight ...

PI Original
by Progress Illinois
6:46pm
Thu Jan 14, 2010

Progress Illinois On WBEZ!

Tax Increment Financing

This morning on WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight, Michael Jasso from the City of Chicago’s Department of Community Development sat down with the hosts to defend Mayor Daley's controversial tax increment financing (TIF) system.  (You can listen to the full segment here.)  ...

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
1:03pm
Tue Jan 5, 2010

TIF Threatens To “Blow Up” In Daley’s Face

Richard Daley

As regular readers know, 2009 was chock-full of historic headlines about Mayor Daley's shadowy tax increment financing (TIF) system.
Throughout the year, public officials, community activists, and
journalists worked in tandem to finally blow the lid off of Mayor Daley's
...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
11:12am
Mon Dec 21, 2009

Reilly Talks TIF On Fox Chicago

Chicago City Council

Chicago Ald. Brendan Reilly raised some eyebrows last month when he rejected a tax increment financing (TIF) district proposed in his 42nd Ward.  The move represented a new chapter in the ongoing push to rein in and provide more oversight over Mayor Daley's vast TIF ...

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
5:34pm
Tue Dec 15, 2009

Some Affordable Housing Rumblings

Tax Increment Financing

Last spring, Housing Action Illinois put the affordable housing
crisis in context when it reported that a staggering 49 percent of
households in the state cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment at "fair market rent" ($893 a month). Despite this overwhelming need, local...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
1:07pm
Mon Dec 7, 2009
1 comment

Allen On Daley: "I Don't Know What The Mayor Is Talking About"

Chicago City Council

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 ...