by Kate Piercy Not many people understand tax increment financing (TIF) very well, and the lack of transparency in the TIF process, particularly in Chicago, leaves many taxpayers unaware of exactly where TIF developments are located, how many tax dollars are going into these TIFs, and how the money is being spent. Mayoral candidates looking to fill...

by Brian Costin This is the weekly Liberty Leaders e-mail sent out for the second week of October. To sign up for the weekly (every Tuesday) Liberty Leaders email click here, select Volunteer Opportunities (Liberty Leaders Program). Help Stop TIF Abuse Tax increment financing (TIF) has been around for over thirty years, many people do not understand...

With the Chicago Mayoral race heating up, so too is talk about the City’s $500M annual Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenues.  Former Chief of Staff to President Obama, Rham Emanuel recently gave a call to former Alderman and now U.S. Congressman Mike Quigley in regards to Chicago’s TIF districts. Recently, two Cook County Board President candidates,...

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Earlier this week, Chicago’s Inspector General (IGO) released the second annual “Budget Options” report featuring 63 options for the city to cut costs or raise revenues. While the ideas range from low-hanging fruit to political non-starters, the report highlights the severity of the fiscal difficulties the city is facing with personnel costs and...