A group of Democratic Chicago lawmakers found a pot of money to help bail out the Chicago Public Schools from its half billion dollar shortfall. They found about $350 million. You will never guess where they found it. Yeah, laying in a TIF slush fund. From the
Sun-Times:
Chicago’s Democratic legislators want to use the city’s extra tax increment financing money to help Chicago Public Schools.
And as the governor threatens the district with bankruptcy, a North Side alderman suggested a second property tax hike is needed, in addition to the $588 million just enacted.
A swath of Democratic representatives joined Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie on Thursday morning in asking that the extra TIF money — an estimated $150 million to $350 million — go toward helping CPS plug its $480 million budget hole.
It gets better. The City's budget director say they've already been doing that to the tune of $700 million since 2011, including $113 million this year alone. Virtually every newer skyscraper in downtown Chicago is located within a TIF district, which is the same problem we have here in Indianapolis. Incredibly, they're already talking about another property tax increase in Chicago on top of the more than half billion dollar tax increase they just passed.
9 comments:
Gary, question: does the city need legislative approval to move TIF funds to another fund? And I mean here in Indiana, as I can imagine the answer differs depending on jurisdiction.
Based on the past practice here in Indianapolis, they can do with it what they please. They just have to leave a sufficient balance in the fund to pay ongoing debt obligations incurred by the TIF.
Like Indiana sorts they did not look at bloated union contracts, bloated health insurance plans, bloated pension plan costs. Every elected idiot can only think about increasing revenues.
TIF: Tax Incre-mental Fascism
As a billionaire CEO from the corporate world, Rauner is accustomed to having things 100% his way and is dismissive of the workings of a representative system. Of course, in tea party jargon, compromise is not a word regardless of the consequences. While Rauner is radically anti-union, his agenda extends to dismantling institutions that provide essential services. His refusal to cooperate on passing a state budget appears to be more about creating chaos through default than to reach any agreement. Rauner's play book seems reminiscent of Cruz's campaign to shut down the government and default on the national debt in order to achieve ideological ends. By the way, thank you Rep. Brooks for voting to shut down the federal government at a cost of some $24 billion.
Anon 6:33: "Compromise" is the crap quality "deal making" that candidate Trump rightfully criticizes as inept & idiotic; not what most consider "representative" or good government. Bureaucrats don't negotiate, they give away fruits of the productive / private sector & auction access to same in service to themselves. Keeping this low quality, bad government "open," serves who?
Thursday Ted Cruz said he had lost his health insurance because of "Obamacare" and now has no coverage. Today we find out that was a lie. He was entitled to enroll in the Congressional plan, and he voluntarily chose not to enroll in an Affordable Care Act exchange when he could have, and his Blue Cross plan was not canceled because of Obamacare , but for some other business related purpose.
It's not as if "thou shalt not lie" is a commandment or anything.
Your argument would have force behind it had all the prior "compromises" not resulted in a $18 trillion debtload.
For a decision where a use of TIF Funds was disallowed recently see: http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/03161507pdm.pdf
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