saw this in today's sun times. I think what the article is saying is that TIF districts can lead to 'hidden tax increases', a charge, or a fear, that was leveled in the debate in Riverside a year ago. Instead of being irrelevant, thread included here now, let's just say, because the horse -- its riders, its owners-- is not dead.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/1247289,CST-NWS-tif29.article
TIF districts ripped as 'government gone wild'
COOK COUNTY | Fastest-growing part of real estate tax isn't on billOctober 29, 2008
BY MARK J. KONKOL Cook County Reporter mkonkol@suntimes.com
Nearly $900 million in property tax money was siphoned off into Cook County tax increment finance districts in 2007 -- 11.5 percent more revenue than the previous year, according to a report produced by Cook County Clerk David Orr.
If TIF funds were collected as a separate taxing district, it would take in the second largest amount of property tax revenue in the county after the Chicago Public Schools, which gets $1.9 billion a year.
Orr's report shows property owners that the fastest- growing part of their real estate taxes isn't listed on their tax bill, County Commissioner Mike Quigley said.
"Every year TIFs are having exponential growth, and it's the fastest-growing part of your tax bill. It's government gone wild," Quigley said. "They lack accountability and transparency . . . There's no gauge of effectiveness beyond anecdotes. It's way too much power for any government to have."
TIF districts -- initially set up to pay for economic development in blighted areas -- have become controversial because they divert money from other taxing bodies, not all the areas are blighted and there's little oversight of how the money is spent.
While TIFs don't raise taxes, they redirect them away from schools, parks and other local government agencies bankrolled by property taxes. Property taxes within a TIF district are frozen at existing levels for 23 years. Any increase over the starting tax base is funneled into a pool used for expenses such as infrastructure improvements, business subsidies and environmental cleanup.