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Originally Posted by ardecila
^ Isn't a citywide TIF just robbing Peter to pay Paul, though? Now you really are choking off funding to CPS, Park District and the city's general fund, which also are relying on the growth in property tax revenues to pay off debt and keep the city running. One of the reasons (in my mind) that TIFs were defensible was because they were targeted at selected areas of the city, and a majority of the city's property fell outside of a TIF district.
Also might need some enabling legislation at the state level to allow more flexibility in how TIF is used.
I attended the Active Transportation forum last week. Given Vallas' reputation as a technocrat I was expecting a strong plan to grow CTA ridership with some policy ideas, but I was disappointed. He offered no specifics, just platitudes about the importance of CTA and reminiscing about riding the bus as a boy. Seems like he was unprepared. He promised to put out a transportation platform soon, but so far the only idea he's put out there is converting Metra Electric to a CTA operation instead of extending the Red Line. That's not a bad idea, but it's not a citywide strategy unless he wants to do the same to several other Metra lines.
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As I read it, the citywide TIF would capture the revenue from the expiring TIFs not create “new” ones. Yes, that revenue would otherwise go into the general fund as TIFs ended, but this would dedicate it to a specific line item. It would also allow them to bond out the future value of the TIF revenues and attempt to re-amortize the payment schedule. It’s not a perfect solution, but it does give dedicated money to the pensions without directly raising taxes.