1. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement
Tom Tresser
CivicLab co-founder
The TIF Illumination Project
Mike Prombo
Assistant Superintendent of Business Services
North Chicago Community Unit School District No. 187

2. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement
 A tool used as a financing mechanism by municipalities for community
redevelopment and improvement
 Uses future gains in taxes to finance current improvements that will create
those gains
 TIFs started in California in 1952
 Illinois passed the Illinois Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act
in 1977, becoming the 25th state to adopt TIF legislation
 In Illinois, a TIF district can exist for up to 23 years and can be extended
for up to another 12 years
 Today 49 states and the District of Columbia have TIF legislation,
(Arizona does not have a state TIF law in place)
 Since 1970, TIF activity has increased due to a reduction in federal
funding for redevelopment related activities, state-imposed caps on
municipal property tax collection, and limits on the amounts and types of
city expenditures

3. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement

4. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement

5. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

6. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement
As of January 2006, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity reported that there were 998 TIF Districts in Illinois:
 77 Illinois counties (out of 102) have a TIF district in them
 998 total TIF districts
 Kane County has 17 TIF districts
Kane/Cook has 4 TIF districts
Kane/DuPage has 5 TIF districts
 389 Communities have TIF districts
 D300 communities:
Carpentersville (2)
East Dundee (2 current and 1 proposed)
Hampshire (1)
Hoffman Estates (1)
Huntley (1)
Pingree Grove (1 proposed)
West Dundee (2)

7. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

8. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement
 Hoffman Estates EDA (Sears Economic Development Area* ending 2013)
 Hampshire TIF (Downtown – State Street and SOO Railroad line)
 Huntley Mall TIF
 Carpentersville TIF 1 (Spring Hill Center); TIF 2 (Williams & Lake Marian Roads)
 West Dundee TIF 1 (Union School) and TIF 2 (Routes 31 and 72)
 East Dundee TIFs
 Downtown TIF (Proposed)
 Dundee Crossing TIF
 Prairie Lakes TIF
 Pingree Grove TIF
(Proposed for Bell and Harrison Property – approximately 100 acres)
*The Sears EDA was created by the State of Illinois to retain or attract large companies willing to:
1) retain or create a minimum of 2,000 jobs; 2) make an investment of $100 million or more; and 3) develop 400 acres or more.

9. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement

10. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement

11. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIFs and Civic Engagement

12. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
The TIF Illumination Project
• All volunteer effort housed at the CivicLab
• Data mining, investigatory journalism, map making, graphic design
• Answers: “What is a TIF?” & “What is impact where I live?”
• So far looked at 141 TIFs across 32 wards in front of 4,300 people
• Over 75 stories in media about this work
• Made news and contributed to wide civic discourse across the city

13. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

14. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
14
Money From TIFs Taken From?

15. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
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16. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
16
Mr. TIF

17. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
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18. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

19. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
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20. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
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21. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
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22. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
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23. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
23
Amount of property taxes FROM the 42nd ward sitting
in TIF accounts on January 1, 2014:
$125,778,335

24. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

25. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

26. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
161 N. Clark Street
230 N. Michigan Avenue
–
Hard Rock Hotel
I S. Dearborn Avenue –
Mittal Steal HQ

27. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
123 S. Dearborn Street
18 W. Monroe Street
1 N. Dearborn Street - Sears

28. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

29. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIF FUNDS IN THE 2nd WARD
UPDATE - $55 MILLION TIF FUNDING
SHIFTED TO MARRIOTT HOTEL FROM
DePAUL STADIUM.
PIER AUTHORITY TO PUT UP $100
MILLION FOR
STADIUM PROJECT!

30. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
30
4TH WARD TIF CONTROVERSY

31. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
TIF FUNDS IN THE 46th WARD
Lincoln
Park

32. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
WHERE ARE PARKS MOST NEEDED?

33. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
33
TIF FUNDS IN THE 9th WARD

34. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

35. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

36. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15

37. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
37
1.
TIFs hoard taxes in
prosperous communities
– starve poor
communities.

38. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
38
Authors plead "Our
message is simple: 'Please,
please, if you're going to
offer incentives, don't give
them to every firm that
asks -- Don't! Ninety
percent of the time they
don't work, and handing
them out after a company
has already located in an
area without them makes
no sense at all."

39. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
39
• 2010 D200 sued Village of oak Park
over downtown TIF.
• Case dragged on for one year.
• Cost taxpayers over $600,000
• “Economic development is not the
business of school districts –
education is. TIFs take dollars from
schools. The best economic
development localities can do is
provide great education. When
dollars from education go into these
deals the game never comes out
favorably for students.” – Sharon Patchak-
Layman, member D200 School Board

40. 64th ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONS
APRIL 29 – MAY 1, 2015
@IllinoisASBO #iasboAC15
LET’S HAVE AN HONEST AND ACCURATE TALK
WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS ABOUT TIFS.
THEY’RE PAYING THE BILLS.
THEY DESERVE TO KNOW ALL THE IMPACTS THAT
TIFS HAVE ON THEIR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.