Watch this 35 minute video to hear directly from our Illuminators:
Here is what our TIF Illuminators thought about their experience reviewing this data:
Leslie Cortez (they/them) –
I am very grateful to be part of this great project to bring transparency to municipalities across Illinois. This is very personal to me as I grew up in a community where the opportunity for civic engagement can be significantly and greatly improved. I did not know this existed to keep track of what developments or projects are coming to our towns or cities.
I have lots of observations that stick out to me. One observation, very technical but important, I did not know a number in parentheses means that number is a negative number. If I did not do this training with the Civic Lab TIF Illumination project, I would have not known to look out for that. If I had not had this training I would have assumed my town was doing okay financially in this project- but these numbers reveal the project is in the negative or are owed to that project. Another observation that surprised me was some municipalities had no documents uploaded for the past three years though this the purpose of the state’s online data portal. This made me really curious about what accountability looks like for community members who are contributing their dollars toward projects that are not being accounted for. In my town of Cicero, IL, TIFs were not available for 2020 which makes me concerned, because there was developments that came into our town like Amazon and Bimbo, but also there are five TIF documents not being accounted for. My town started a zoning project with lots of visions of developments, but has not done much to build transparency even with their zoning meetings which came swift and during business hours. As a result of being able to look at different municipalities, I can see some towns put down a lot of detail to who, what, and where funds are going and to see inconsistency across municipalities was not a surprise, it was insightful.
Another observation that stood out to me is how county lines are drawn there were some TIFs that were hard to find or determine where it went to because it was divided amongst two different regions. I think of Aurora in DuPage.
Inputting the data and seeing TIFs across municipalities also revealed for me that some line items were very vague and described some expenses/budget lines as “administration cost” or “TIF administration.” While line space is limited, it is important to provide more details. Some municipalities uploaded 30 pages attesting to the project plans that happened, where money went, and which businesses were involved. One county, Jefferson, submitted their audit papers where there was attempts to try to give a bigger financial picture. Financial transparency is a must and being able to justify why some counties were in the few thousand to the hundred thousand is an area of attention.
I want to dig into more of this, especially because we are dealing with land – land that be given back to indigenous people who have worked with the land. Land that can be taken cared for- thinking about sustainable local farming/agriculture, for housing, for stewardship. This bring questions about what private projects come and who gets to decide where the money is channeled.
Bio:
In navigating through the medical industry with their immigrant family, it inspired Leslie to pursue studies in the medical field and provide equitable care for Spanish speaking families. As they advanced through their Biology program, they observed gaps in care and how institutions impact the health of low income and marginalized people through labor and or lack of environmental regulation. They graduated from Concordia University with a B.A. in Sociology and was one course shy of a B.A. in Biology in 2016. Leslie is an alum of the Obama Foundation’s Community Leadership Corps, CivicLab, Northwestern’s Law and Organizing Fellowship. Currently, they are a Youth Organizer at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization as well as a member of the multi-generational leadership council for the Cicero Community Farm. Leslie is pursuing their Master’s in Public Policy and Administration at Northwestern. Leslie has showcased their artwork in Pilsen and in zines. With the community, they hope to use their art and creativity to co-design a just, equitable, and sustainable future.
Esefany Figueroa (they/them) –
There is a lack of transparency and accountability in our local governments. Ideally, we expect them to use our money appropriately where resources are needed for the community (improving our public schools, better parks and gardens, fewer factories due to pollution, and improving water quality), but with this research we saw that many of the Counties do not report where our money is going. When they do report it and we see where the money goes, it’s in things like factories, renovating corporations, paying off debt and compensating private developers (rather than investing in underdeveloped areas). They are using the funds disproportionately in communities.
Hay una falta de transparencia y responsabilidad en nuestros gobiernos locales. Idealmente, contamos que usen nuestro dinero adecuadamente donde se requieran recursos para la comunidad (mejorar nuestras escuelas públicas, mejores parques y jardines, menos factorías por la polución, y que mejoren la calidad de agua), pero con esta investigación vimos que muchos de los condados no reportan dónde se va nuestro dinero invertido. Cuando lo reportan y vemos donde se va el dinero, son en cosas como factorías, renovar corporaciones, y pagar deudas (en vez de invertir en áreas subdesarrolladas). Están usando los fondos desproporcionadamente en comunidades.
When their family first moved to Cicero, Estefany spent the majority of their time volunteering at Little Village Environmental Justice Organization Semillas de Justicia/Seeds of Justice and Semillas y Raíces/Seeds and Roots. They learned about various plants, how to work with the land, and what it means (and feels like) to be in community. This cultivated a sense of deep respect, love and care in them towards the earth and people. This led Estefany to intentionally find a role in serving their community. For two years, they served as an AmeriCorps Member with United Way Metropolitan Chicago and Cicero Community Collaborative. Estefany worked alongside parents, students and community leaders to enhance the quality of life of Cicero residents by working together to improve educational outcomes, community engagement, increase health and safety and work towards a Cicero where race/ethnicity and languages are not barriers for community. Currently, they are a student of nature and are a member of the multi-generational leadership council for Cicero Community Farm. Estefany wants to honor the land and pay homage to nature in every aspect. Estefany is in the process of launching El Arte de Fani art shop, where a percent of proceeds will go towards beings, entities and organisations doing earthwork. By using natural earth pigments/inks and 100% plant derived paper, they hope to create nontoxic artworks that are not harmful to the environment, animals or people, but inspired by them (and their stories).
Sebastian Nalls (he/him) –
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts are a financing tool used by local governments to support economic development and revitalize declining areas. They work by capturing the increase in property tax revenues generated by new development within the district and using these additional funds to pay for infrastructure improvements, public services, and other economic development initiatives within the district. However, this project showcased that this isn’t always the outcome. There were instances of areas seeing a significant increase in revenue captured by the TIF inferring that there had been an increase in development. An example of this would be the Romeoville Marquette Center. The property tax increment for 2020 was $3,452,693 with the cumulative total over the TIFs lifespan being $55,549,552. However, there are other examples of TIFs being used irresponsibly which lead to further economic issues. Many Rockford TIFs were started just before the Great Recession of 2008. Bonds were taken out to fund projects, but as the economy worsened, the development came to a standstill. Rockford’s Hope 6 TIF sits at -$1,187,617. These TIF accounts now sit with negative balances leaving residents to pay for development that did not work. One of the statistics I wish was captured would be based on the turnover rate of residents. How many of those living within TIF districts actually remain after? If neighborhoods lose their historical culture due to gentrification, can we really claim that Tax Increment Financing districts are positively “developing” communities? These are some of the questions I would ask as the project continues. There were also TIF districts that had no records for the last 3-5 years. Illinois law requires that they report, but there seems to be no punishment for municipalities that do not. It would be interesting to see if there could be fines implemented for municipalities who refuse to upload financial information.
Sebastian Nalls is a community activist and alumni of Purdue University completing his bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Political Science in May 2022. In 2020-21, he ran for Mayor of Evanston gathering 10% of the vote. Since then, Sebastian has worked in Governor Pritzker’s Office of Equity, aiding the implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives across the state, while also doing community activist work on many issues that impact Evanston residents such as early childcare access, youth and young adult development programs, and affordable housing initiatives.
