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"PIRG Releases report on TIF in Chicago"

Thursday, February 2, 2012
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

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...

Will Rahm's TIF reforms go far enough?

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

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.

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.

 

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.

 

Tax Dollars And Sense

The expansion of blight

Monday, February 6, 2012
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

A lot of people think that the quality of life and infrastructure in Chicago has really improved over the last few decades. But, the use of tax-increment financing, an economic development tool used to target "blight," has increased wildly over the last decade. So either "blight" is finding its way into most of our neighborhoods, or this program is egregiously misused. I wonder which one it is...

"PIRG Releases report on TIF in Chicago"

Thursday, February 2, 2012
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

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...

$5 million tax refund

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

On Monday, Bank of America returned more than $5 million in subsidies to the City of Chicago because it hadn't delivered on its goal of creating 2,700 jobs.

Will Rahm's TIF reforms go far enough?

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

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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Case Study: Republic Windows and Doors

Tuesday, January 17, 2012
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

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.

Case Study: The Central Loop TIF District

Monday, January 9, 2012
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

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.

Recommended Resolutions for Rahm in 2012

Thursday, December 29, 2011
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

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

Issue | Budget, Tax

Close Corporate Tax Loopholes

Making corporations pay the taxes they owe.

Not a cause for celebration

Friday, November 18, 2011
By | Celeste Meiffren
Field Director

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced his budget with a pledge to end the smoke and mirrors, and as it passed unanimously, aldermen celebrated a 'new day' for the City. But despite some improvement to end past gimmicks, the budget still includes misleading accounting tricks that hide a tax increase from public scrutiny.

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