'Startling': Chicago TIFs collect $500 mil.BUDGET DRAIN? Tax districts too secret, critic says
BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter spatterson@suntimes.com
Chicago Sun-Times
They collect more than $800 million a year -- more than most governments in Illinois -- but critics say too little is known about how special taxing districts spend all that money.
Most of that -- $500 million -- comes from Chicago alone.
Tax increment financing districts are established in hopes of encouraging development in select areas. Tax rates on properties and developments stay at current levels for years afterward. Revenue generated beyond those levels goes into special TIF coffers, which are largely spent at the discretion of a city administrator, like Mayor Daley.
That keeps those new revenues from going to school districts and other governments -- which critics say inevitably leads to tax increases to cover spending.
TIF critic Mike Quigley said seeing $500 million diverted from taxing bodies to special city coffers is "startling."
"And one person's deciding how all of that is spent," the Cook County commissioner said. "We don't know enough about how it's being spent."
City Planning Department spokesman Pete Scales said the city has been transparent on how TIF funds are spent and said TIFs have generated $8.3 billion in private development, compared with $1.5 billion in public spending to establish those areas. "They're an incredible development tool for us," he said.
I want to get Squiggley and Shillerbeast in the same room and make them discuss this issue before our community. Otherwise, they'll just continue to cuddle up like BFF's during every election season while speaking and acting diametrically opposite in their daily office.
ReplyDeleteWhat do these two still have in common? Their love of Sara? Their mutual interest in cleansing and purging Lakeview ills into Uptown? Their nose to butt attachment to Jan Schakowsky?
thank you for pointing out that "miss" quigley and ms shiller are cut from the same clothe - quigley might be right on the TIF issue but he like hs can't be trusted to do the right thing - he is a grand stander and actually is more frightening that the aldercreature - quigley has no principles nor ethics, his finger (and rear end) are always up in the air trying to see how the wind is blowing
ReplyDeleteYes, he seems to talk the TIF talk but what is he doing about it in his own political back yard?
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