Report: Chicago TIFs Drove up Taxes
Researchers found 64% of private TIF spending went to five downtown neighborhoods, while over 98% of nearby property-value growth likely would have happened anyway.
- A sweeping study published Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago found that Chicago's Tax Increment Financing spending disproportionately favored Downtown over poorer neighborhoods, failing to reduce historic economic inequities.
- Authorized by state lawmakers over 40 years ago, TIF was designed to stimulate development by freezing property values, yet the study labels it a "runaway tool" that diverts essential revenue from schools and public services.
- Data shows 64% of private TIF funds—around $1.6 billion—went to five Downtown neighborhoods, while five South and West Side communities received just $55 million despite 98.2% of property value growth occurring without TIF subsidies.
- Mayor Brandon Johnson has declared $2.1 billion in surplus funds to curb the program's reach, while the study recommends independent oversight and phasing out Downtown districts that have achieved their original goals.
- Chicago homeowners paid an estimated $6,616 in extra taxes from 2014 to 2023 to compensate for diverted TIF revenue, while the city pivots toward a $1.25 billion bond prioritizing equitable development on the South and West Sides.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Report: Chicago TIFs drove up taxes - Regional Media News
(The Center Square) - According to a new report from the University of Illinois Chicago, tax increment financing has led to significantly higher property taxes in the city. Juan D. González, report author and senior fellow at UIC's Great Cities Institute, said TIFs began as a well-intentioned and innovative method to revitalize neighborhoods and finance public infrastructure. González said Chicago uses TIFs more than any other major city in the …
Chicago’s TIF Program Helped Downtown — But Not Poorer Neighborhoods, New Study Shows – Block Club Chicago
“Chicago has utilized this program far more than any other major American city,” said Juan González, a senior research fellow with the Great Cities Institute. “Over the decades, the program morphed into a runaway development tool with little accountability to the public. ... Instead of reducing the city’s historic economic inequities, it has exacerbated them."
Chicago's TIF Program Helped Downtown — But Not Poorer Neighborhoods, New Study Shows
CHICAGO — A program that has successfully helped revive Chicago’s once downtrodden Downtown has been less effective in the city’s poorer neighborhoods, including many on the South and West Sides, a sweeping study published Wednesday found. Authorized by state lawmakers more than 40 years ago, the tax increment financing program, or TIF, aims to revitalize struggling neighborhoods by stimulating economic development. When the city designates a TI…
Chicago Sun Times
Usa newsChicago program that set aside billions for development has left poor areas behind, UIC study finds
A program that has successfully helped revive Chicago’s once-downtrodden downtown has been less effective in the city’s poorer neighborhoods, including many on the South Side and West Side, a sweeping study published Wednesday found.Authorized by state lawmakers more than 40 years ago, tax-increment financing — known for short as TIF — aims to revitalize struggling neighborhoods by stimulating economic development. When the city designates a TIF…
TIF Districts Boosted Property Taxes but Failed to Spur Development in Blighted Neighborhoods: Report
Tax Increment Financing Districts “reinforced the city’s historic economic inequities instead of reducing them — and all of this happened with little transparency or accountability from city planning officials,” according to the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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