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Riverside Info » About Riverside

1. KimJ
   Member

   The Juniors meeting this past Thursday was interesting. Both sides of the TIF debate were invited to speak. Even though the Village side of the debate took an additional 20 minutes on top of their allotted 15 minutes, there was simply not enough time to get to the heart of the issue.

   I asked the Village's TIF expert, who does TIF in the City of Chicago, and had a very fancy power point presentation, how the schools in Chicago benefit from TIF. He did not have that answer readily available. I googled it.

   “Concerning schools specifically, advocates of TIF in Illinois argue that the state-supported funding for schools in TIF districts increases when growth occurs due to TIF, but Illinois is presently ranked 48th out of 50 states for the amount of funding the state provides for public education. Combined with the extraordinary amount of TIF Districts that exist in Illinois, schools see a significant decrease in available funds during the life of the TIF, yet the essence of the TIF is economic and community growth resulting in a much higher demand for educational services. As a result, Illinois schools have lost an average of $83 Million annually to the TIF authority.—

   (The author, James P. Regan is the managing partner of the Chicago law firm of Fisk Kart Katz and Regan, Ltd., the Illinois member of American Property Tax Counsel (APTC), the national affiliation of property tax attorneys.)

   Read the entire article here.......
   http://www.aptcnet.com/articles/2006/Unforeseen_Consequences_Regan.htm

   Or watch this CBS news report, only $328 Million deficit 2006/07 school year....
   http://broadcast.organicframework.com/p/CBS-2-Chicago-Local-News-036328M-Deficit-Has-Public-Schools-Pondering-Layoffs-Larger___441,49209.html

   So there really is no definitive answer here. I just can't figure out if TIF is bad for schools or not!

   Anyway , a few noteworthy lessons I gleaned from the event.

   -Landlords, business owners, and the village can enter into 3 party agreements with TIF funds. Yes, all landlords may apply.

   -The word "blight" very seriously upsets some people.

   -Yes, eminent domain CAN be used anytime, TIF or no TIF.

   -The village has NO $$$ AT ALL to use its eminent domain powers without a TIF.

   -It is distracting to set up a power point presentation in someone's face while they are speaking.

   Were you there, what did you think?

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 13:24 #

2. spatny
   Member

   Kim - you need to take a large, imposing dog with you. Say it is a service dog, and they have to let him/her in. We'll get you one that eats power points. Watch them cringe as it stands on their chests. Don't get mad, get even.

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 15:13 #

3. corbi328
   Member

   Who was the "Village's TIF Expert" for that presentation? I thought Joe Pilewski was making a factual presentation on the TIF. As you probably know, Joe and his family are long time Village residents and Joe has three kids in our public school system.

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 15:31 #

4. Lonnie
   Member

   He's also part of the village administration, a member of the EDC.

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 15:37 #

5. MikeT
   Member

   KimJ said (in her lessons from the tif expert)
   -Yes, eminent domain CAN be used anytime, TIF or no TIF.

   .
   .

   ED is like a municipality's right to free speech. Yes, it can be used anytime w/ or w/o TIF. But it is not an absolute right, just like our right to free speech is not an absolute right. We cannot shout FIRE in a crowded theatre, for example, if there is no fire. We cannot intentionally libel or injure another's character.

   For a muni to exercise ED, the ED action has to satisfy a compelling public interest. It cannot unilaterally move to take a private property. This right is further limited by state. The state of Illinois has one of the better laws on the books limiting ED actions by muni's. Supporting private developers is prohibited in Illinois....w/o a TIF.

   While a TIF is not needed for ED action, a TIF satisfies this compelling public interest. See pg 3 of the Mckanna TIF document where it says, in effect... therefore it is in the public good/interest to redevelop the properties within the tif district.

   http://www.riversideinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/draft-11-22-06.pdf

   miket

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 15:39 #

6. corbi328
   Member

   Joe is a volunteer member of the EDC that serves the community of Riverside. He is also one of the most fair, balanced and trustworthy people you'll ever meet. This town would be a lot better off if we had more Joe Pilewskis and less Monday morning armchair quarterbacks.

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 15:45 #

7. MikeT
   Member

   What/who is an example of a Monday morning qb in this context, corbi328?

   KImJ sharing info from the JRs meeting? I was not at the JRs meeting, so it was informative to me and to anyone who did not attend that meeting.

   In other words, I believe it is valid to post and share information on this forum. Without such free exchanges we as a society are much closer to communist groups such as China and Russia.

   Unlike the Sunday football game analogy, in America - in Riverside now - the game is always going on, Sunday through Sunday. So the internet is a perfect tool for the exercise of free speech since it is 24-7.

   miket

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 15:52 #

8. Lonnie
   Member

   While I do not know Joe, I will say that I have heard nothing but good things about him. But he is part of the administration.

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 15:53 #

9. corbi328
   Member

   MikeT,

   My Monday morning armchair QB was not directed at anyone in particular and especially not Kim. I interjected because I wanted to make sure that readers of this thread understood that the presenter was not just some anonymous "Village TIF expert", but rather a valued member of this community with a lot at stake that happens to also have significant professional expertise in the area of TIFS.

   Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 15:59 #

10. MikeT
    Member

    I am sure the Village TIF expert, whoever he or she is, is a nice, well intentioned person. But that does not mean it adds extra reasons for the implementation of the current TIF proposal in Riverside.

    Posted Sunday Feb 11, 2007 16:15 #

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