Expanded use of tax increment financing is on the table in Chicago—a city that invests less than its peers on building and running transit.
Steven Vance reports on a bill making its way through the Illinois State Legislature that would enable "a new class of tax increment financing district that could only be created around Chicago transit stations and lines…" Moreover, adds Vance "[m]ost of the revenue generated by these TIFs would be earmarked to pay for construction of rapid transit lines, stations, and other transit-related facilities."
Vance includes a list of the areas, all within a half-mile of ongoing transit projects that would be eligible for the new TIF, although it seems that the TIF could also apply nearby existing facilities. Vance also notes that the new legislation addresses some of Chicago's recent controversies regarding the use of tax increment financing by requiring that Chicago Public Schools "gets all of the tax revenue it would receive from the area if the transit TIF had not been created."
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