TIF: Tax Increment Finance
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Click here or on the cover image on the right to download a copy of "A Tale of Two Cities," Commissioner Quigley's report on tax increment financing in Chicago and Cook County.

Quigley's TIF Advocacy in the News

Activists, alderman zero in on TIF ‘taxation without representation’ (Medill Reports - Chicago, February 13, 2008)

Bill Would Require Disclosure Of TIF Fund Use; Tax Increment Financing Districts Are Intended To Aid Blighted Areas, But Use Of Funds Is Not Fully Disclosed (CBS 2 Chicago, February 9, 2008)

$75 mil. windfall for Rush?; Payout from TIF district would help fund $900 mil. expansion (Chicago Sun-Times, January 8, 2008)

The True TIF Tally (Chicago Reader, November 22, 2007)

City's taxing trick siphoning away millions; Tax increment districts put cash under mayoral control (Chicago Sun-Times, November 18, 2007)

'Startling': Chicago TIFs collect $500 mil.; Tax districts too secret, critic says (Chicago Sun-Times, November 16, 2007)

The TIF Tax Revealed ("Clout City," Chicago Reader, November 15, 2007)

City's TIF take passes $500-million mark (Crain's Chicago Business, November 15, 2007)

TIF programs need reform: Civic Federation (Crain's Chicago Business, November 12, 2007)

Special tax districts hit wallets but spur growth, study finds; Study says spurring growth is trade-off (Chicago Tribune, November 12, 2007)

Taxpayers can't afford more TIF districts (Crain's Chicago Business, November 5, 2007)

Abuses of TIF program abound, says Cook County Commissioner (Near West Gazette, November 2, 2007)

Political arrogance (Chicago Tribune, October 30, 2007)

Chicago's 'hidden tax increase'; County commissioner's TIF tiff with Daley in the spotlight (Chicago Sun-Times, October 11, 2007)

Quigley pushes TIF reform at town meetings (Booster / News-Star, October 3, 2007)

County Commissioner Gives Illinois Lawmakers an Earful over TIF Abuse (Budget & Tax News, October 1, 2007)

TIF for Tat (Chicago Reader, June 29, 2007)

TIF love: Mayor Daley is so taken with the subsidy that he uses it for undeserving projects (Crain's Chicago Business, June 18, 2007)

TIFs go to Springfield ("Clout City," Chicago Reader, June 13, 2007)

City aid helps keep Navteq in Chicago (Chicago Tribune, June 13, 2007)

Union Station tower takes step forward; Developer seeking city subsidy for an 18-story addition (Crain's Chicago Business, June 11, 2007)

Daley aims to delay sunset on big TIF; Move would add $1 billion to Loop development kitty (Crain's Chicago Business, May 21, 2007)

Quigley the Brave (Chicago Reader, May 11, 2007)

Another form of TIF abuse (Chicago Tribune, April 30, 2007)

Study shows TIFs are ripe for reform (Chicago Sun-Times, April 24, 2007)

New report blasts use of TIF districts (Daily Southtown, April 20, 2007)

Study: TIFs too tempting for public officials to resist (Chicago Sun-Times, April 19, 2007)

The Joke's On Us ("Clout City," Chicago Reader, April 17, 2007)

LaSalle Street TIF Proposal Has Chicago Politician Calling for Moratorium (Budget & Tax News, December 2006)

The LaSalle Central TIF: In Like Flynn (Chicago Reader, November 24, 2006)

Whose Slush Fund Is It Anyway? (Chicago Reader, October 13, 2006)

Hot Type (Chicago Reader, October 13, 2006)

TIF reform hits the wall (Chicago Tribune, October 9, 2006)

Repeat After Me: TIFs Are Great (Chicago Reader, October 6, 2006)

Sleight of Hand (Chicago Reader, September 29, 2006)

Commissioner accuses mayor of killing TIF reform (Daily Southtown, September 29, 2006)

Commissioner wants closer eye on TIFs (Daily Southtown, September 13, 2006)

Proposed law would provide TIF tax info (Daily Herald, September 13, 2006)

The Lone Gunman (Chicago Reader, September 8, 2006)

Is Daley saving souls or something else? (Chicago Tribune, August 31, 2006)

Pass the Donuts (Chicago Reader, August 18, 2006)

Million-Dollar Lies (Chicago Reader, August 11, 2006)

Public should know costs of city's many TIF districts (Chicago Sun-Times, August 7, 2006)

Those promiscuous TIFs (Chicago Tribune, August 7, 2006)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2007

Commissioner Mike Quigley (D-10) Releases Major Research Report Questioning Effectiveness and Accountability of Tax Increment Financing (TIF)

Commissioner Quigley calls TIF a “back door tax hike,” urges major reform of the widely-used economic development tool

Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley (D-10) today released A Tale of Two Cities: Reinventing Tax Increment Financing, a major research report calling into question the effectiveness and accountability of tax increment financing (TIF) in Chicago and Cook County. [Click here or on the image to the right to download a copy of the report.]

Tax increment financing is a widely used economic development mechanism that allows municipalities to earmark tax revenues from property value growth within a designated area suffering from blight—a TIF district—to finance development in that same area.

The use of TIF by Illinois municipalities has exploded over the last two decades, particularly in Cook County. In 2005, there were more than 373 TIF districts in Cook County, collecting over $686 million in property tax revenue.

“Over the last 20 years, schools, park districts, and other governments in Cook County have lost nearly $700 million in revenue from TIF districts due to inflation, over $100 million in 2005 alone,” said Quigley. “This adds to the incredible financial pressures facing almost every department of our local government. Health clinics have closed, schools are using textbooks held together by duct tape, and open space is not being preserved for the future,” Quigley said.

Commissioner Quigley has emerged as a leading critic of TIF, calling for significant reform of the rapidly expanding program. Last summer, he and his policy team began a 10-month study of TIF and its impact on taxpayers and local governments in Cook County, culminating in the report released today. A Tale of Two Cities focuses on Chicago’s TIF program and concludes that while TIF may be a useful tool for economic development, criticisms of TIF are largely well-founded. The report reveals that several of Chicago’s TIF districts have failed to grow any more than similar areas where TIF has not been used, calling into question the policy’s effectiveness as an economic development tool. [Click here to continue reading the full press release (Adobe PDF file).]

Previous Press Releases

Commissioner Quigley's 2006 Legislation

(All documents below are in Adobe PDF format.)