TIF Abuse

According to the web site of Illinois State Comptroller there are “approximately”  (we can’t seem to get an exact count) 943 TIF districts in the state of Illinois in 2010. These TIF districts...

Mayor Renault – I mean, Mayor Emanuel, expressed amazement at the lack of standards for creating and evaluating TIF districts. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that “Without criticizing Daley directly, Emanuel said he was...

John McCarron used to be the financial editor of  The Chicago Tribune and he was also the VP of planning and communications for The Metropolitan Planning Council. He knows a thing or two...

TIF Report founder and Editor-in-Chief Tom Tresser wrote an article for The Lincoln Central Association that appears in their Spring 2011 edition of “THE LCA Watchdog.” This is especially relevant because the folks...

As reported in The Chicago Reader: Mayor Daley didn’t just depart the City Council Wednesday with hugs, kisses, and another attempt to shape his legacy. He also ccommitted the city to hand out...

As reported in ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com: Steelmaker A. Finkl & Sons Co. is seeking a $20-million subsidy from the city to help pay for its new South Side plant, which will replace the company’s longtime...

In a recent op-ed piece for The Huffington Post, Cook County Clerk David Orr repeated his call for a moratorium on new TIF districts in Chicago. Here’s part of what he said: “We...

As reported in The New York Times, states are racing to the bottom to give tax incentives and other goodies to businesses in order to lure them to their areas. KANSAS CITY, Mo....

As reported in Bloomberg Markets Magazine: The landmark Blackstone Hotel in downtown Chicago, which has hosted 12 U.S. presidents, opened in 2008 after a two-year, $116 million renovation. Inside the Beaux Arts structure,...

As reported on WLS-TV Chicago, the Dimmick Elementary School in LaSalle goes without because local TIF districts hijacked some $405,000 in property taxes from it since 1994. One of the most popular rooms...