Letter to Crain's Chicago Business
.
From: "Hugh J. Devlin"
To: editor@chicagobusiness.com
Subject: City planning to extend 1st TIF: no payday for schools
Crains Chicago Business, May 29, 2006
When our local politicians and the real estate developers who sponsor them, pitch Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts to our communities, we are told that we are investing in our future, that we are making sacrifices to grow our property tax base. But no TIF in Chicago has ever expired and now it looks like they never will. Our home town's first and most lucrativeTIF, the Central Loop TIF, was established in 1984, and is supposed to expire next year.
Central Loop TIF profile
http://ncbg.org/tifs/tifprofile.aspx?id=15
Since 1984 the Central Loop TIF has collected nearly $1B. Sure, Millennium Park looks mahvelous, but recall that in Chicago roughly half of every property tax dollar goes to our public schools. The Central Loop TIF has diverted roughly $500M from our schools to developers.
Recently, the Central Loop TIF is collecting nearly $100M a year. If the Central Loop TIF
were to expire next year as we were promised back in1984, our schools would see
roughly $50M a year in enhanced operating revenues.
TIF expiration is the pot of gold at the end of the TIF rainbow, the big pay-off we have all
been sacrificing for more than two decades toachieve. As a school funding crisis looms, our local politicians move to bolster their war chest for their developer pals. Our City's plans to extend their1st TIF expose TIFs for what they are: corporate welfare for campaign contributors. Our City has hijacked a temporary development tool and are poised to make City-awarded property tax rebates for big guys a permanent feature of our property tax landscape.
Our City made a pact with property owners back in 1984. We need to hold them to it.
Hugh J. Devlin
Note:Reprinted with Permission
.
From: "Hugh J. Devlin"
To: editor@chicagobusiness.com
Subject: City planning to extend 1st TIF: no payday for schools
Crains Chicago Business, May 29, 2006
When our local politicians and the real estate developers who sponsor them, pitch Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts to our communities, we are told that we are investing in our future, that we are making sacrifices to grow our property tax base. But no TIF in Chicago has ever expired and now it looks like they never will. Our home town's first and most lucrativeTIF, the Central Loop TIF, was established in 1984, and is supposed to expire next year.
Central Loop TIF profile
http://ncbg.org/tifs/tifprofile.aspx?id=15
Since 1984 the Central Loop TIF has collected nearly $1B. Sure, Millennium Park looks mahvelous, but recall that in Chicago roughly half of every property tax dollar goes to our public schools. The Central Loop TIF has diverted roughly $500M from our schools to developers.
Recently, the Central Loop TIF is collecting nearly $100M a year. If the Central Loop TIF
were to expire next year as we were promised back in1984, our schools would see
roughly $50M a year in enhanced operating revenues.
TIF expiration is the pot of gold at the end of the TIF rainbow, the big pay-off we have all
been sacrificing for more than two decades toachieve. As a school funding crisis looms, our local politicians move to bolster their war chest for their developer pals. Our City's plans to extend their1st TIF expose TIFs for what they are: corporate welfare for campaign contributors. Our City has hijacked a temporary development tool and are poised to make City-awarded property tax rebates for big guys a permanent feature of our property tax landscape.
Our City made a pact with property owners back in 1984. We need to hold them to it.
Hugh J. Devlin
Note:Reprinted with Permission
.
posted by gf at 5:00 AM
2 Comments:
Mayor Daley is proposing a City-wide property tax hike to cover the $50M he plans to divert to his Loop developer pals.
Daley taxes to the max for schools
BY FRAN SPIELMAN Sun-Times City Hall Reporter, June 1, 2006
Mayor Daley has signed off on an up-to-the-limit school property tax increase -- totaling $55 million -- for the 10th time in the 12 years since his public school takeover,
More...
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-skul01.html
When our local politicians and the real estate developers who sponsor them tout TIFs, we are told that TIFs don't cost anyone a dime. These two stories, a few days apart, provide as clear a refutation as one is likely to ever get. Sorry, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, and TIF ain't it, either.
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