Progress Illinois

Tax increment financing (TIF) geeks across the city read with interest the Chicago Inspector General's recent audit of the Central West TIF district. The watchdog was able to find noticeable waste by focusing on one tiny sliver of one district, a fact that led the Reader's Ben Joravksy to wonder just how much taxpayer money has been misused at the expense of the Daley administration's vast TIF empire. The Chicago Journal's editorial board, meanwhile, expressed frustration over the opaque manner in which the IG says the city "ports" TIF revenue from one district to another.

Chicagoans aren't the only Illinois residents fed up with the way municipal officials have exploited the development tool. In suburban Bartlett, city council members -- including the Village President -- are questioning the success of their TIF system. And the Belleville News-Democrat penned an incensed editorial Thursday correcting elected officials who continue to insist that tax increment financing is not a hidden property tax. These pieces should serve as a valuable reminder to TIF reformers in the Windy City: If some Democrats could be pushed to buck the mayor, the General Assembly could reform the state's TIF statutes, and thereby protect taxing bodies in neighborhoods statewide.

The Sun-Times' Fran Spielman makes a solid point about the Sweet Home Chicago ordinance this morning that we didn't emphasize in our post yesterday on the issue: By mandating that 20 percent of the revenue Chicago generates in a given year from the tax increment financing (TIF) network be spent on affordable housing projects, the measure would partially "rein in Mayor Daley’s unbridled control over the TIF piggy bank." This is significant considering that a lack of transparency and oversight has turned what should be a useful development tool into a $500 million annual slush fund for the Daley administration.

Expect the mayor to put up a fight. In an interview with Chicago Public Radio's Chip Mitchell yesterday, spokesperson Molly Sullivan said the city already spends "a good amount of TIF for affordable housing." In fact, between 1995 and 2007, the city spent just four percent of TIF funds on affordable housing developments. That doesn't seem like "a good amount" to us.

On the eve of a crucial committee vote in the Chicago City Council, the Sun-Times "heartily endorsed" the Sweet Home Chicago affordable housing ordinance today.  The measure would set aside 20 percent of tax increment financing (TIF) revenue collected each year to fund new and rehabbed developments. From their editorial:

TIFs frequently are criticized for siphoning money from schools and the like to subsidize questionable investments that get little oversight. With this ordinance, the public would at least know how a portion of TIF funds each year would be spent.

The paper makes some constructive recommendations for tightening up the bill to "enhance development," including committing resources to once-blighted neighborhoods where older residents are now being priced out. Aldermen should consider those suggestions when they meet to discuss the ordinance tomorrow (PDF) at 10 a.m. For an analysis of the bill's support in committee, check out our post from last week.