Progress Illinois

Tax increment financing (TIF) has become a central component of the Chicago Public Schools budget debate this summer. Last week, WBEZ reported that the Chicago Teachers Union was pushing aldermen to support an ordinance that would allow some TIF money to be returned to the school district. Because there are several ways in which TIF money could be sent back to CPS headquarters, we asked CTU for a bit more clarification about the approach they prefer. Here's what they told us over the weekend:

The CTU's preferred approach to TIFs are returning the $1.2 billion TIF surplus as a short-term option that would give Chicago Public Schools and all public services a much-needed shot in the arm.  For a long-term fix, TIFs should only exist in truly blighted areas and the monies held and spent as a trust by local community members and officials.

On Tuesday at Lane Tech High School, CPS will hold its first of three public budget hearings. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.

It's by no means a major driver of Chicago's budget crisis, but the city's decades-long defense of former Police Commander Jon Burge hasn't been cheap. Since the 1980s, Chicago has spent roughly $10.1 million in taxpayer funds on legal fees and another $21.1 million on settlement payments. (Five more civil lawsuits are still pending). Now that Burge has been convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, some prosecutors involved in the Burge fiasco are asking when the city will stop standing by the retired cop.

Lawyers in Chicago's legal department say their hands are tied thanks to a 1997 legal decision that puts the city on the hook for all judgments and damages awarded against Burge. They fear that shoddy private defense work could result in an "outrageous settlement" that Chicagoans would be forced to pay anyway. But with two dozen inmates still seeking new hearings and trials, cases the Illinois Torture Commission could eventually recommend, it might make more economic sense to initiate quick settlement hearings -- and not draw out each potential case in court -- before the legal fees really balloon.

Officials from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) released data yesterday showing that seniors are really taking advantage of the "free ride" program signed into law two years ago. Although a University of Illinois-Chicago study last year predicted that the number of free rides on the CTA would rise by 1 million this year, the agency has already provided 2.5 million more free rides during the first six months of 2010 than in the same period last year. The Regional Transportation Authority says the program costs the cash-strapped transit agencies about $68 million annually.

The Sun-Times jumped on the State Senate today for failing this spring to approve a House bill that would have limited the subsidy to low-income seniors, saving the RTA $36 million in revenue. The legislature probably deserves that scorn. We'd also like to see pundits and reporters make hay over some structural reforms transit advocates have fought for that could save a lot of money while improving service for local residents who want to see the system improved and expanded. Those reforms include altering the CTA's rigid funding restrictions, taking into account performance measures like safety and oil use when making surface transportation spending decisions, and establishing a transit rainy day fund to protect against service cuts. Local residents are willing to pay for those improvements, too.