As property tax bills land in mailboxes in Madison and St. Clair counties, TIF districts sap local tax dollars.

The village board of Lakewood, Illinois, will decide whether to keep a TIF district approved in 2015 in a vote scheduled for June 13.

Property taxes are set to increase in Madison and St. Clair counties, and local taxpayers should know that through TIF districts, politicians divert tax dollars that could go toward schools, libraries and public services to separate accounts that foster a lack of transparency and accountability.

The village of Rosemont is moving forward on a $60 million taxpayer-funded baseball stadium.

Chicago Public Schools is faced with the possibility of closing school early while Chicago sits on massive property wealth.

Though the median household income in Belleville is only $43,318, Belleville Township School District 201’s top administrators are making six-figure salaries.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has suggested funding CPS with tax increment financing, or TIF, funds; this would temporarily bail out the district, but more needs to be done to address serious concerns about Chicago’s TIF program.

The city’s latest taxpayer-funded development project reinforces the need to eliminate tax increment financing in favor of honest and transparent city budgeting.

Local governments create TIF districts to encourage development in “blighted” areas; but TIFs often don’t deliver on promised economic benefits, while they do divert tax dollars from other uses and create opaque slush funds for the mayor to reward insider developers.

Making Illinois’ system fairer through pension reform, consolidation and accountability to parents and students.