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CAMPAIGN 2007
Riverside ballot offers TIF and related issues
By Joseph Ruzich
Special to the Tribune
Published March 28, 2007
Riverside resident Raymond Wallish, 29, hopes more business owners will consider setting up shop in his historic village, but he isn't willing to pay their way.
"I would like to see a Trader Joe's [grocery] move into town and nice restaurants like those in La Grange," said Wallish.
But Wallish wonders, like many others who live in the suburb of 8,895 people, whether establishing a proposed tax increment financing district is the answer.
"The downtown might be vacant, but I'm still not in favor of giving tax money to rich developers and corporations," he said.
While trustees will have the final vote on the proposed TIF in coming months, a town organization has put an advisory referendum question on the April 17 ballot that asks voters if the village should establish a TIF.
In a tax increment financing district, a portion of property tax revenues that would otherwise go to governmental bodies are instead used for such things as infrastructure improvements in the district and subsidies to developers and tenants.
The community organization Concerned Citizens for Riverside circulated the petition that was signed by more than 600 residents to include the question on the ballot, said member Lonnie Sacchi.
"We hope that they [trustees] will listen to what the people have to say," said Sacchi. "We went out to get the signatures because the village didn't want to include the referendum question. The people are overwhelmingly against the TIF, and the board doesn't want to recognize that fact."
Sacchi also is upset that the village included two other questions on the ballot that he believes are there to intimidate and confuse voters about the TIF.
The second question asks voters if they would be willing to have a property tax increase to support central business district improvements. The last question asks if the village should consider eliminating the requirement of commercial space on the first floor in buildings located in the business district.
"They are making it seem like they have no other alternative or face a tax increase," Sacchi said.
Village Manager Kathleen Rush said the referendum questions were developed to clarify other paths the village can take if they don't establish a TIF.
"We didn't ask the questions to 'pull a fast one' on the voters but to explain to them that there is a lot more complication to the issue," said Rush. "The TIF question isn't as simple as it seems. The question about the property tax is to show a different way to fund the business district. The question about commercial space is to ask if the community wants to focus only on residential areas."
Rush said that the biggest outcry from residents in the past has been over the need for more amenities downtown, which she described as looking "tired."
The downtown has a restaurant, wine bar, two coffee shops, a grocery and several other businesses. But Rush said the village should provide a boost for additional businesses, including more restaurants, cafes and retail shops.
Riverside resident Diane Legge Kemp, who owns DLK Civic Design in Chicago, conducted eight workshops about the TIF proposal over the last several months.
Kemp said 60 to 80 people came to each session to discuss the proposal and to look at other options. She said a majority of the residents made it clear they don't want major subsidies for developers.
"We didn't come up with a strong sense of what we should do," said Kemp. "But we took a vote and it was overwhelming 2 to 1 'no' for the TIF."
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
