It was only a few weeks ago that Mayor Rahm delivered a budget address in which he praised himself for doing the responsible—although boring and unpopular—thing of raising taxes to free future Chicagoans of onerous obligations.
Oh, if Rahm were only so accommodating to, say, the mental health needs of low-income people in high-crime areas.
When the City Council approves a TIF district, it basically freezes for 23 years the amount of property taxes the schools, parks, library, city, county, etc. can collect from property owners in that district.
At the moment the land is mostly industrial or vacant. If Sterling Bay builds Lincoln Yards it will become some of the most valuable residential and commercial property in the city.
And all the time that Sterling Bay is paying property taxes to its own not-so-little TIF piggy bank, our schools, police, fire, parks, etc. will need more money to keep up with rising costs. So the powers that be will have to raise your property taxes, Chicago, to compensate for the money they’re not getting from Sterling Bay in its TIF.
Just as you would have to pay for a new garage.
