Almost as if preordained, the first installment of my property tax bill arrived a few days before Mayor Lightfoot announced her TIF reform plan.
For the record, my annual tax bill is approaching $13,000. If the upward trend continues, I’ll be priced out of my house just like people in Woodlawn, Humboldt Park, Wicker Park, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, etc.
There’s transparency—they’re part of a shadow budget, shrouded in secrecy. The city’s supposed to apply a rigorous “but for” test to any application, as in, but for this TIF handout the project wouldn’t happen. But there’s generally no public scrutiny of these claims.
Of course, I must point out that Mayor Rahm made similar TIF reform promises when he took office in 2011.
As for “reforming” the cost part of the TIF by telling us, you know, how much they cost—don’t hold your breath.
He explained that when it came to the budget, the mayor told his aides what he wanted to spend. Their job was to find the money to pay for it. TIFs were only a means to that end.
