Community Groups Set the Tone on TIF Reform
Adriana Cardona
Published: August 4, 2011
“Egregious misuse of public money must end,” said Amisha Patel, Executive Director of the Grassroots Collaborative on Thursday July 28 at the Task Force on TIF Reform forum.
“Of the 2.45 billion in TIF dollars spent from 2004 through 2008, the Loop, near North Side, near South Side, and near West Side communities received $1.56 billion, or 63 percent.”
Patel was the first representative to speak in front of TIF Reform Task Force members who sat through the event as members from diverse communities expressed their frustrations with the way TIF money has been managed throughout the years.
“The city and CPS together are facing a deficit of $1.4 billion while over $850 million sits on TIF accounts,” said Patel as she urged the city to declare a TIF surplus and return $200 million back to the tax base, arguing that this money must come from downtown TIF districts as opposed to money from other neighborhoods outside the downtown area.
The Task Force on TIF Reform forum at the Chicago Military Academy in Bronzeville, was held by the City of Chicago under Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s leadership in order to promote transparency and effectiveness in the TIF system.
The forum, however, was a time for community representatives to directly accuse the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program of redirecting property tax money that should be used for revamping struggling communities.
“Do not raid our local Bronzeville TIFs,” said Sheila Carter voicing her dissatisfaction of not seeing any TIF money going towards the development of her community. “Do not call our local money surplus.”
Established in 1984, Chicago currently has 163 active TIF districts. According to several sources, the TIF districts generated per year are roughly about $500 million. Critics, however, believe that this revenue has been misspent in private projects and downtown developments.
TIF funds are to be used to foster industrial development and remediate damaged communities, however, others see them as a tool for consolidating power. Under the current system, once a TIF district is designed, the total Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) is set as a base level for the TIF and freezes the property value for the next 24 years, which can be taxed for schools, parks and other public places in that district. If the property value goes up, homeowners simply pay higher taxes, and the extra surplus goes into TIF accounts that are subsequently controlled by the mayor’s office.
According to reports issued by the Task Force on TIF reform regarding the total allocation by project type from 1983 to 2010 (27 years), three percent has been allocated to small business/homeowners programs, 47 percent of TIFs has gone to public works, and 50 percent has been allocated to private projects.
Other Task Force participants testifying in support of a more transparent TIF process were representatives from the Albany Park Neighborhood Council, Lakeview Action Council, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Action Now in Englewood, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Chicago Teachers Union, the Raise Your Hand Coalition, the Pilsen Alliance and the Residents Association of Greater Engelwood
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