Progress Illinois

Since the Reader's Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke published their latest report on Chicago's shady tax increment financing (TIF) system, we've noted the increasing media attention being devoted to the issue, with some reporters even going so far as to refer to as a "huge problem" for the city. Today, as the city budget hearings wind on, the Tribune editorial board does its part to keep the story alive in a piece titled, "It's Our Money."  The board takes that reasonable (and familiar) position that, while TIF can be a valuable and effective economic development tool, Mayor Daley's use of it has gotten out of hand:

TIFs are meant to revitalize blighted areas that wouldn't otherwise be attractive to developers. By designating an area a TIF district, the city lays claim to the new tax dollars generated by rising property values there. Those dollars are supposed to be reinvested in the district to promote growth.

TIFs are one of the better redevelopment tools available to local governments. But Chicago has gotten carried away, creating a vast redevelopment wonderland controlled by the mayor. More than a third of the city, including the LaSalle financial district and most of the Loop, now falls within TIF districts. Though it stands to reason that an area that raises hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes is no longer blighted, if it ever was, the Daley administration insists the TIFs are needed to keep those skyscrapers from falling into disrepair.

The board goes on to call for more transparency: "Open the books, Mayor. Put everything out in the open so taxpayers can see how their dollars are spent."  

It's great to see more and more voices in the local media speak up about the TIF "mission creep." A more transparent system is obviously needed.  But we should also recognize that there are ways to scale back the system and lessen its drag on local taxing bodies.  Learn more about them here.