'Even renters, who may never even see a property tax bill. Their landlords generally pass on the tax hikes in the form of higher rents.' | bennyjshow
A TIF limits the amount of property in a TIF district that the taxing bodies—the park district, CPS, the city, the county, etc.—can tax. As a result, tax rates rise citywide to compensate for the tax dollars the schools, city, parks, etc.
aren’t getting from property in TIF districts. How much more in property taxes have we paid for the dozens of TIF districts our mayors and aldermen have created over the years? I don’t know—the city keeps that information a secret. Now, it is true that the south side transit TIF is not an “additional tax levy,” as the CTA spokeswoman puts it. But so what? That statement is classic misdirection, intended to confuse you. There are more than one ways to hike your property taxes. The government can budget to spend more money—i.e., raise the tax levy. Or they can increase the tax rate.Now let’s deal with the untruth offered by Alderpeople Dowell, Hopkins, and Anthony Beale, who are making a major deal out of the fact that “the money for this project will be generated between Madison and Pershing . . . and it will all be spent at 130th. That wouldn’t have been allowed previously,” as Hopkins told theTheir outrage over TIF dollars being spent outside a specific TIF district is laughable given that it happens all the time. It’s called porting. Dowell, of all people, should know about porting. TIF money intended to be spent building Wintrust Arena in her near south side ward wound up being spentMany schools all over the city and Millennium Park were built with property tax dollars ported in from adjacent TIF districts. Mayor Daley was planning to pay for his Olympics with TIF money ported in from all over town. Funny, I never heard Dowell or Beale or Hopkins complain about that. Because TIFs are citywide tax hikes, Chicagoans routinely pay for TIF-funded projects that are nowhere near where they live. So, no, the property tax used to fund the Red Line extension will not be “generated between Madison and Pershing,” as Hopkins claims. Instead, it would be generated throughout the city. Because—one more time—TIFs raise everyone’s property taxes. I hate to say it, but the lament about people in the loop paying for the Red Line sounds like Ronald Reagan talking about welfare recipients using food stamps to buy booze. It’s a way to inflame the middle class into thinking they’re carrying the burden for the poor. When, in fact, it’s the other way around with Chicago’s TIF program—it generally favors rich neighborhoods over poor ones. As I’ve writtenThus, residents from Beale’s Roseland-based ward pay more in property taxes to fund the Lincoln Yards project in Hopkins’s ward. Maybe it’s time taxpayers in gentrifying neighborhoods return the favor, so to speak. And spend a little extra property tax dollars to help Roseland, which needs the investment a lot more than Lincoln Yards. That’s for sure. The real question is—are residents willing to raise their property taxes to promote development by extending the Red Line? That question probably won’t be asked. Just as residents weren’t asked whether they wanted to raise their property taxes to help pay forInstead, the city and the CTA will pretend TIFs don’t raise your property taxes. They’ve gotten away with this hocus-pocus for over 30 years—no need for them to stop it now.Ben & Dr. D riff on a week's worth of news. Starting with…mayoral politics. Mayor Lightfoot calls Paul Vallas a Republican. Vallas says not fair. Then Darren Bailey jumps into the mayor's race–sorta. That gets Ben explaining the ins and outs of getting on the ballot. Which reminds him of the candidate he wished he had voted for last time around. And more…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Watch The Decemberists and Lin-Manuel Miranda Perform 'Ben Franklin's Song'The Decemberists fans got quite a surprise last night (Aug. 23) during the band's show at New York's Central Park SummerStage, as Colin Meloy and company
Read more »
Kevin Smith Says Ben Affleck's 'Never Been Happier' Following WeddingSmith attended Affleck and Lopez's second wedding celebration last weekend at the 'Gone Girl' actor's estate in Georgia.
Read more »
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck enjoy luxury shopping spree on honeymoonWhile enjoying their second honeymoon following their Aug. 20 wedding celebration, the newlyweds checked out designer duds in Milan.
Read more »
Jennifer Lopez Steps Out With Ben Affleck During Honeymoon In ItalyJennifer Lopez went from a bride in white in Georgia to a happy wife in white in Italy, and Ben Affleck couldn't look happier.
Read more »
Did Ben Shapiro Get PPP Loan Forgiveness?PPP loans were given out during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, with the intent of preventing businesses from shedding employees or going under.
Read more »
Meet the American who wrote 'Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ': Union general Lew WallaceMeet Union General Lewis Wallace, who wrote the redemption story 'Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ' while pursuing his own redemption story after he was unfairly blamed for a Civil War battlefield loss.
Read more »