Cook County Clerk David Orr released the 2012 tax increment financing (TIF) revenue report Thursday, which showed that the 435 active TIF districts in Chicago and Cook County pulled in $723 million in property tax revenue last year.

Chicago stands to collect $457 million in TIF revenue for the 2012 tax year, which is $3.3 million more than in 2011, according to Orr's office.

Orr urged Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago City Council to declare a TIF surplus in an effort to provide funding to the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district, which is facing a $1 billion budget deficit. Chicago's public schools are seeing deep budget cuts for next year. In May, the Chicago Board of Education approved the shut down of 50 neighborhood schools, 48 of which closed for good last month, due to CPS' budget deficit and reported underutilization crisis.

“How do we explain to school kids that gym, music and art classes are cancelled while profitable businesses are tapping into the city's tax base?” Orr said in a statement today. “TIFs may have helped make downtown Chicago beautiful, but not enough is being done with TIF funds in the neighborhoods where they are needed most.”

See Orr's full announcement of the report below, courtesy of CAN TV:

TIF data will be added to Cook County property tax bills starting with the 2013 second installment bill, according to Orr, which will be mailed in summer 2014. Currently, property tax bills for those living inside a TIF district do not show how many tax dollars are being sent to the district. 

Check back with Progress Illinois for an in-depth look at the 2012 TIF report.