Tom Tresser of the TIF Illumination Project (www.tifreports.com) gave this "TIF 101" presentation at a community meeting hosted by El Pueblo Manda (www.tinyurl.com/EPM-Facebook) on April 27, 2023. The focus was on Pilsen and we had Spanish translation. More info: info@civiclab.us

1. April 27, 2023
Tom Tresser - tom@civiclab.us

2. www.civiclab.us – info@civiclab.us
WELCOME
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The CivicLab is a Black-led 501 c 3 tax-exempt nonprofit “do tank” dedicated to accelerating
and deepening government accountability, grassroots democracy, civic engagement and
social justice.
We seek to expand civic imagination about what is possible for Chicago’s future.
We are helping to recruit, develop, equip and inform new leaders to take us to that future.
Our method is: Investigate. Fabricate. Educate. Activate. Liberate. Repeat.

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The TIF Illumination Project
Go to www.tifreports.com for video primer and other
background info on how TIFs work…

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What are TIFs?
• Created by municipality (IL state law)
• Designed to subsidize some business project
in “blighted” or under-served area
• “But for” test – only for projects market CAN
NOT support
• Captures “incremental” property taxes ABOVE
base when district was created
• Only for hard costs
• Lasts 23 years
• Supposed to be spent where collected

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What are TIFs?
The Midwest TIF – 24th Ward
(created in 2000)
Say there
are 1,000
properties
in this
TIF…
…and say that
these properties
are generating
$1,000 in
property taxes as
the TIF starts…
…then this
$1,000 is
called the
“Base.”

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How Do TIFs Work?
When the TIF is created,
the city tallies up all the
property taxes
generated by district in
that year (called the
"base" amount). After
that, all property tax
increases above the
base (the "increment")
are channeled to the TIF
district.
The property taxes
collected from
properties inside the
district BEFORE the
district was created
that go to units of
government stays
FLAT for the life of the
TIF (23 years).
$1,000 from
example

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How Do TIFs Work?
THIS MONEY GOES TO
THE MAYOR.
IT IS “OFF THE BOOKS”
THIS MONEY IS USED
FOR UNITS OF
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
IT IS “ON THE BOOKS”
$1,000 from
example

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Money From TIFs Taken From?
$1,000 from example

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What are TIFs?
Under state law, areas proposed for TIF designation
must possess numerous blighting factors to be
eligible:
• Age
• Obsolescence
• Code violations
• Excessive vacancies
• Overcrowding of facilities

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Where are TIFs?
2021
Chicago = 132
Suburbs = 325
Cook County = 457
34% of ALL of
Chicago is in
a TIF!

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Mr. TIF

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15. TIF 101 15
Source: Cook County Clerk

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TIFs raise our taxes.
Source: Cook County Assessor’s Office – 1/17/23 presentation

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Created = 1998
Life extended in 2022
Will now end in 2034

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 Property taxes removed in 2021 = $25,623,906
 Total property taxes removed since 1998 = $230,123,633
 Total expenses in 2021 = $9,913,511
 Total $ in this TIF account at the end of 2021 = $64,491,602

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Created = 2019
Will end in 2043

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TOTAL COST OF THIS TIF AT LEAST
$1.1 BILLION!!

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