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Blog Post | Tax

"PIRG Releases report on TIF in Chicago" | Celeste Meiffren

Our friends at Good Jobs First, the national leader in research on the impact of economic subsidies, blogged about our new report on tax increment financing (TIF) in Chicago...

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Blog Post | Tax

Will Rahm's TIF reforms go far enough? | Celeste Meiffren

Yesterday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that he will be immediately implementing some of the reforms proposed by his Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Reform Panel five months ago. All of the proposed reforms are necessary to fix TIF and need to become law before more of our tax dollars are wasted.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG | Tax

Progress Report: Promised Reforms to Protect Chicago Tax Dollars ‘Incomplete’

 

Yesterday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that he will be immediately implementing some of the reforms proposed by his TIF Reform Panel five months ago. Today, watchdog group Illinois PIRG released a report on the need to fix TIF and called for all of the Mayor’s recommendations to become law.

 

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Tax

Cleaning Up Tax Increment Financing

 

Every year, $500 million worth of property tax revenue collected in Chicago flows into funding pools shielded from public scrutiny and democratic control—the bank accounts of the city’s Tax-Increment Financing (TIF) districts.  That money—10 percent of Chicago’s annual property tax revenue—is intended to promote development in struggling areas of the city, but the fashion in which it has been handled in the past—without full transparency, democratic oversight, or accountability for the recipients of funds—has opened the door to misuse of public money.

 

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

Too Close to Home

In the United States, 49 million Americans receive their drinking water from surface sources located within 50 miles of an active nuclear power plant – inside the boundary the Nuclear Regulatory Commission uses to assess risk to food and water supplies.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG | Tax

Progress Report: Promised Reforms to Protect Chicago Tax Dollars ‘Incomplete’

 

Yesterday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that he will be immediately implementing some of the reforms proposed by his TIF Reform Panel five months ago. Today, watchdog group Illinois PIRG released a report on the need to fix TIF and called for all of the Mayor’s recommendations to become law.

 

> Keep Reading
News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

Nuclear Power Plants Pose Risks to Drinking Water for Illinois

The drinking water for 652,000 people in Illinois could be at risk of radioactive contamination from a leak or accident at a local nuclear power plant.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG | Budget

Thirty Fortune 500 Companies Paid More to Lobby Congress Than Taxes

With the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case approaching – which opened the floodgates to corporate spending on elections – Illinois PIRG and Citizens for Tax Justice reveal thirty corporations that spent more to lobby Congress than they did in taxes.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Budget, Tax

Red Light and Speed Cameras: Public Safety or Private Gain?

No one likes getting traffic tickets. But a new research report released today by Illinois Public Interest Research Group (Illinois PIRG) will make you dislike them even more.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG | Health Care

New Report Rates State Health Exchanges

Many states have taken action to create health exchanges to deliver better value for consumers, and Illinois should follow their lead, according to Making the Grade, a new report by Illinois PIRG (Public Interest Research Group).

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Result | Consumer Protection

KIDS’ SCHOOL LUNCHES NOW SAFER

For years, America’s schoolchildren have been eating beef, chicken and other foods that would have been rejected as substandard even by fast food chains. Thanks in part to our advocacy, the U.S.D.A. has stopped buying such low-quality meat for school lunches.

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Result | Health Care

Young People Now Covered

This year, the federal health care reforms that Illinois PIRG worked to win have started to pay off for young people. In the past, teens saw their premiums soar or were denied coverage when they turned 19, even if they’d been insured their whole lives. Now, they can remain on their parents’ plans until age 26. 

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Tax

Cleaning Up Tax Increment Financing

 

Every year, $500 million worth of property tax revenue collected in Chicago flows into funding pools shielded from public scrutiny and democratic control—the bank accounts of the city’s Tax-Increment Financing (TIF) districts.  That money—10 percent of Chicago’s annual property tax revenue—is intended to promote development in struggling areas of the city, but the fashion in which it has been handled in the past—without full transparency, democratic oversight, or accountability for the recipients of funds—has opened the door to misuse of public money.

 

> Keep Reading
Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

Too Close to Home

In the United States, 49 million Americans receive their drinking water from surface sources located within 50 miles of an active nuclear power plant – inside the boundary the Nuclear Regulatory Commission uses to assess risk to food and water supplies.

> Keep Reading
Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Budget

Representation Without Taxation

Marking the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission case, this report takes a hard look at the lobbying activities of profitable Fortune 500 companies that exploit loopholes and distort the tax code to avoid billions of dollars in taxes.

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland

The 2011 Trouble in Toyland report is our 26th annual survey of toy safety. In this report, we provide safety guidelines for consumers when purchasing toys for young children and provide examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards.

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Budget, Tax

Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead

Privatized traffic law enforcement systems are spreading rapidly across the United States. But when private firms and municipalities consider revenues first, and safety second, the public interest is threatened.

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Blog Post | Tax

"PIRG Releases report on TIF in Chicago" | Celeste Meiffren

Our friends at Good Jobs First, the national leader in research on the impact of economic subsidies, blogged about our new report on tax increment financing (TIF) in Chicago...

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Tax

Will Rahm's TIF reforms go far enough? | Celeste Meiffren

Yesterday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that he will be immediately implementing some of the reforms proposed by his Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Reform Panel five months ago. All of the proposed reforms are necessary to fix TIF and need to become law before more of our tax dollars are wasted.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Tax

Case Study: Republic Windows and Doors | Celeste Meiffren

Every week, Tax Dollars and Sense offers a case study to analyze the problems with TIF. This week we will look at the Republic Windows and Doors project within the Goose Island TIF District.

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Blog Post | Tax

Case Study: The Central Loop TIF District | Celeste Meiffren

Every week, Tax Dollars and Sense will offer a case study to analyze the problems with TIF. This series will start with the most famous TIF district-- the Central Loop.

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Blog Post | Tax

Recommended Resolutions for Rahm in 2012 | Celeste Meiffren

Here are some recommendations for what Rahm’s New Year’s Resolutions ought to be so City Hall gets the reform that it needs.

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Tools & Resources

  • YOUR TAX DOLLARS BECOME TWINKIES
    Billions of taxpayer dollars have subsidized the ingredients in junk food. We're calling on Congress to end agribusinesses handouts.
    Learn more
    Take Action
  • No Backroom Deals
    To plug budget gaps, it seems that local governments will consider selling anything — from parking meters to airports. Read more on our blog, Tax Dollars and Sense.
    Learn more
    Latest updates
  • STOP TAX DODGERS
    Corporate tax avoidance cost taxpayers $100 billion last year. We're working to close the loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying the taxes they owe.
    Learn more
    Take Action
  • A BETTER HEALTH CARE MARKETPLACE
    By 2016, the cost to cover the average Illinois family could be more than $25,000 a year. Illinois PIRG is working to make insurers offer better deals.
    Learn More

PRIORITY ACTION

Every year, our tax dollars pay for enough corn syrup and other junk food additives to buy 2.8 million Twinkies. It's time to stop subsidizing obesity.

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