Mike Quigley, Cook County Commissioner, 10th District

Commissioner accuses mayor of killing TIF reform

Daily Southtown

September 29, 2006

By Jonathan Lipman

Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley on Thursday accused Chicago Mayor Richard Daley of killing two proposals to increase county and state scrutiny of special taxing districts.

"It's obvious the mayor's doing everything he can to kill this because he doesn't want the world to know about the hidden tax hike," said Quigley (D-Chicago). "Everybody backed out."

Quigley said he had been promised there would be no votes Thursday on any of his three proposals regarding tax increment financing districts. Instead, the county's finance committee voted to end debate on two proposals, effectively killing the measures.

"People are changing their votes based on the mayor's pressure," Quigley said. "If he wants to be county board president too, why doesn't he file for both offices?"

City planning department spokeswoman Constance Buscemi said the mayor has nothing to do with county decisions.

"The board heard the testimony of the people who were there, who testified in favor of TIFs and who understand the good that it does," Buscemi said. "And they voted accordingly."

The special districts are used as redevelopment tools. Once a property is included in a TIF district, any extra tax revenue generated by its increased value goes into a TIF fund, rather than the local taxing bodies, until the TIF district expires. TIF funds are then used for improvements to the area or as economic incentives to lure developers.

Quigley had called for a sea change in the way local governments are using TIFs, and accused Daley of abusing the process and draining money from other governments by proposing to include much of downtown in the new LaSalle TIF.

He had three proposals in committee: one that would require tax bills to list TIF contributions; one that would give the county board more voice in the process; and a symbolic resolution that asks Illinois legislators to review the whole process.

Commissioners voted to kill the second two.

South suburban mayors and other local lawmakers told the committee Thursday they were against the proposals.

"There's no other area of the county more impacted by the crushing property taxes on business and industry than the southern suburbs," said Ed Paesel, executive director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association. "We utilize TIF districts because we have to. We have no other way to compete."

Commissioner Joan Murphy (D-Crestwood) said she would oppose "anything that would impede this process."

"You're taking away control from our local mayors," Murphy said. "If every time a mayor has to request something, it has to go through the county ... it could take months, it could take years."

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