Chicago Misspent TIF Funds, Says Audit

by Kate Piercy Because of “improper spending and oversight of TIFs,” Inspector General Joe Ferguson has concluded the City of Chicago lost Chicago taxpayers “$1.2 million in funds generated by the now-defunct Central Loop tax-increment-financing district — and spent $329,000 for ineligible art work,” according to a Sun-Times report. Ferguson audited of “more than four years worth...

by Kate Piercy

Because of “improper spending and oversight of TIFs,” Inspector General Joe Ferguson has concluded the City of Chicago lost Chicago taxpayers “$1.2 million in funds generated by the now-defunct Central Loop tax-increment-financing district — and spent $329,000 for ineligible art work,” according to a Sun-Times report.

Ferguson audited of “more than four years worth of expenditures for the Central Loop and Central West TIF districts — and a decade of funding transfers from one TIF district to another.”

Some of his findings include:

• Excess funds from the now-defunct Central Loop TIF used to cover massive budget overruns at Millenium Park “remained unused” by the Daley-chaired Public Building Commission for “almost three years.” Only after Ferguson’s auditors discovered the leftover funds was the money returned to taxpayers. But, by that time, the Central Loop TIF had expired. As a result, the money had to be returned to Cook County, not to the city.

• City employees charged with overseeing the TIF-financed renovation of the Chicago Police Academy utilized “deceptive billing practices to acquire certain products or services” not included in the approved purchasing system to avoid scrutiny by the city’s Department of Procurement Services.

For many more findings, click here.

More and more people are starting to recognize the slew of problems with Chicago’s TIF process and its lack oversight and accountability when it comes to managing hundreds of millions of tax dollars. More and more people are also getting frustrated about TIFs diverting millions of dollars from other public services, like Chicago Public Schools, which is facing teacher layoffs and budget problems of its own.

As noted at the end of the Sun-Times article, attempts have been made restrict Chicago’s free rein when it comes to managing TIF funds, but little has changed when it comes to TIF oversight. If things are going to change, the pressure needs to come from the public.