It’s four TIF Illuminations in January!
Don’t miss out. Contact us if you want YOUR ward Illuminated!
Join our new crowdfunding campaign to produce “The TIF Hall of Shame.”
Category: TIF Town Meeting
11th Ward Illuminated
It was another full house for a TIF town meeting, or Illumination, as we fondly call these community gatherings. We lit up the TIFs of the 11th ward.
About 60 people packed the community room at the First Trinity Lutheran Church on 31st Street. You can see the Twitter comments if you search for #11taxtricks. The event was partially sponsored by Friends of Maureen Sullivan, who is running for alderman. Read coverage in Progress Illinois and DNAinfo Chicago.
Here’s what one attendee, Ve Castillo, posted online: “Thank you Thomas Tresser (CivicLab) and Daniel Eugene Pugh-Barnett for the eye-opening experience regarding TIFs in the 11th Ward. Unbelievable and still in awe.”
You can see part of the presentation:
To download the entire deck, including the particulars of the 11th ward, visit the TIF Data Store.
To find out more about our TIF training, research and community meetings email us at info@civiclab.us.
11th Ward TIFs To Be Exposed Dec 4
Join us on December 4 when we Illuminate the 11th Ward! We’ll be at The First Trinity Lutheran Church, Community Room, 643 W. 31st Street from.
7:00pm to 9:00pm. Details here. Contribute to our crowdfunding campaign to produce five TIF training videos.
27th Ward Illuminated (Again)
It was a star-studded 25th TIF Illumination Project town meeting on November 7, 2014 at VenueOne when we Illuminated the 12 TIFs of the 27th Ward.
Here is part of the presentation. The full version, including all the details of the TIF activity for the 27th Ward for 2013 (it’s staggering) is available for $2.50 at our TIF Data Store.
The meeting was hosted by Gabe Buekinga, candidate for Alderman of the 27th Ward. Joining us were former State Senator (and alderman of the 27th Ward) Ricky Hendon and 2nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti, candidate for mayor.
CivicLab Launches First Crowdfunding Project!
Do you want EVERYONE to get Illuminated? If you do, will you please make an investment in our first crowdfunding campaign? The TIF Illumination Project is seeking to raise $15,000 to produce five twenty minute videos on all aspects of the TIF Program in Chicago. Even if you live outside of Chicago you can pitch in because the basic truths and abuses we document here are applicable across the USA as 47 states have Tax Increment Financing Programs. Learn more and invest here.
We will use these funds to pay the videographers and to support the ongoing operations of the CivicLab. We’ll be posting updates and script outlines on the TIF Reports web site on this page.
All TIF Presentations Now Available
Since February of 2013 The TIF Illumination Project has Illuminated 127 TIFs across 29 wards in front of some 3,400 people. In case you missed any of those thrilling presentations, you can now download any or all of them for only $2.50 each at our new TIF Data Store. Just click on the “TIF Illumination” category and you’ll see all the presentations and other files that are available.
Remember, while the TIF work is 100% volunteer powered, we have to cover the expenses of our home, the CivicLab and we’d also like to build an online platform to make all this data (and much more) easily available.
You can also donate a tax deductible contribution via our fiscal agent, the Investigative News Network here.
Chicago Reader Cites Work of TIF Project
Thanks to tireless TIF reporter Ben Joravsky of The Chicago Reader for this wonderful piece. He connects the dots from the supposed state of Chicago’s finances to the plight of our public schools and the tens of millions, nay, hundreds of millions of property tax dollars, we shower on major corporations.
None of this work would’ve been possible without the hundreds of hours contributed by our all volunteer team of coders, map makers, graphic designers, researchers and community organizers who – collectively – have now Illuminated 127 TIFs across 29 wards. The full record of these forums are here. If you want YOUR ward Illuminated, contact us at tom@civiclab.us.
When we Illuminate a ward we tell you: (1) overview of how TIFs work in Chicago, (2) how many TIFs in the ward, (3) best estimate of how much $ those TIFs took from your ward, (4) how much money left in TIF accounts FROM your ward, (5) who got paid from TIFs in your ward. We even provide a nifty graphic map that lays all this out in a super clear manner. No one else can tell you all this!
“TIF 101” Presentation Now Online
Want to take a crash course in Tax Increment Financing? If so, watch this 33 minute video that will introduce the topic and reveal the details of TIF in Chicago and the work of the TIF Illumination Project. The presenter is CivicLab co-founder, Tom Tresser, who is the Lead Organizer for the TIF research and presenter at TIF town meetings. The video is on this page. It’s password protected and we’re asking a contribution of $5.00 to get the password. All our work is 100% volunteer driven but we’ve some bills to pay and plans to expand. You’re welcome to invest more in our work, of course! Please use this PayPal link to make your payment. When we receive notice of your payment we’ll email you the password.
23rd Ward TIF Illumination Coming Aug 27
Join us on Wednesday, August 27 at 6pm at the Kennedy High School. 6325 W. 56th Street, for our 22nd TIF Town Meeting! We’ll be lluminating the six Tax Increment Financing Districts that wander through the 23rd ward.
Says event organizer Anna Corral, “it’s important that the families and communities are constantly aware of where the money is going, what it is funding and if it’s being used in the correct manner.” Get the details and RSVP via Facebook.
Download flier in English = 23rdWard_flier
Download flier in Spanish = 23rdWard-Spanish
Download the flier in Polish = 23rdWard-Polish
Take Our TIF Survey – Yes or No?
The TIF Illumination Project has Illuminated 147 TIFs across 25 wards. Over 2,000 people have been at these meetings and over 40 media stories have been written about our work. We’d like to know what YOU think should now be done with or to the TIF Program in Chicago.
PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO COMPLETE THIS SURVEY. THANK YOU!
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