Community leaders plan on sending a clear message to city council at tonight's hearing on TIF reform: "community leaders and taxpayers are saying ‘enough is enough.’ TIF money is the people’s money." According to organizers, leaders from the Grassroots Collaborative community, who recently threw the first People's City Council meeting, plan on "demand[ing] real transformation of controversial TIF subsidy program." Adding that, "recent news and findings by [the] Inspector General’s Office back up claims of community organizations that the program has been abused to reward the politically-connected elite and ignore the needs of Chicago’s neighborhoods."

The group would like to see reforms that include the axing of a downtown TIF and a use-it-or-lose-it policy that would eliminate the slush fund. They would also like to see some of the TIF money used to fix foreclosed properties. The hearing is set to take place this evening at 6 p.m. at the Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville on the city's South Side.