In his November 11 op-ed in the Chicago Tribune, Mayor Daley once again assured us he’s doing everything he can to protect us from a tax hike in these tough times.
And now the mayor is gearing up to extend the tax-devouring capabilities of four of the city’s existing districts. This summer he apparently convinced Governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois legislature to add 12 years to the 24-year life span previously allowed by state law. That’s 12 more years of higher property taxes.
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Extending the life of a TIF district requires approval by the state legislature and the governor. Until last spring they’d never done it before in Chicago, though they’ve done it many times for suburban and downstate communities.
Back on February 13, state rep Kevin Joyce introduced a bill to expand the kinds of materials open to the public under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. On April 3 that bill passed the house and was sent to the senate, where it sat in committee for weeks. Legislators tell me that during that time city lobbyists got in touch with their allies in the senate, and on May 18 Senator Don Harmon gutted the bill, removing the language about the FOIA and adding an amendment that extended the life of the four Chicago TIF districts: Madden/Wells, Roosevelt/Racine, Stony Island/Burnside, and Englewood Mall. None of these fall into Harmon’s legislative district.
According to Osterman, retrofitting bills is a favorite end-of-session tactic for lawmakers looking to pass legislation without much scrutiny or debate.
Now You Can Find Out How Much You’re Paying Into Your Local TIF
Step one: Choose a piece of property, such as Chicago Public Radio’s neighborhood studio at 2531 W. Division. (OK, someone at the station asked me to look it up.)
