As part of my effort to be as jolly as Santa during the holiday season, I’m going to say something really nice about the proposal to spend $14 million of our property tax dollars on an upscale housing complex on the north lakefront.
As you might have figured, the money would come from the tax increment financing program. TIF money is supposed to be used to eradicate blight in poor communities with no other ways to spur development. But, as you may have heard me point out a time or two, it’s become a slush fund filled with hundreds of millions of property tax dollars diverted from the schools, parks, and other public bodies.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
The mayor then held a press conference, thanked the committee for the report, posed for pictures, and proceeded to ignore the most significant recommendations—especially the one about limiting TIF spending to areas that might not attract investment without it.
But the Uptowners didn’t fall to their knees to say, “Thank you, papa!” Instead, they asked why the field house couldn’t be fixed up without spending the extra $44 million.
In contrast to that debacle, the Montrose and Clarendon saga had something of a happy ending the first time around.
So I guess we could call this a triumph of neighborhood organizing. If the locals hold out longer, they might someday find a developer willing to build something on the land without a handout.
In this case, the land is already tax exempt because it’s owned by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious organization.
