Tools for Change – CivicLab

TIF Article in “Art Against the Law”

Tom has an article in this new collection, Art Against the Law, part of a series of publications from the Chicago Social Practice History Project at the School of the Art Institute.

We are in very distinguished creative and civic company!

“TIF Atlas” Now On Sale!

Now you can own the data that has been driving the TIF Illumination Project all over the city for the past 18 months! Download your very own “TIF Atlas of Chicago Wards” at the TIF Data Store.

We’re using the new ward maps and you’ll see the shapes and names of all the TIF districts as well as the projects funded by TIFs IN EACH WARD. The projects are numbered and all you have to do is look to the appendix in the back of the Atlas to see the name, address, developer and amount of TIF dollars that went to that project. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! We also plot on each ward map all the schools that were CLOSED or cut in 2013. In the back we list the closed schools and list all the cuts that we know of for each public school. More info: tom@civiclab.us.

TIF Project Included In New Book From SAIC

Tom Tresser has an article in Art Against the Law from the School of the Art Institute (edited by Rebecca Zorach), “The TIF Illumination Project and Civic Imagination.” Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/ArtxLaw.

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.

Citizen Science @ The Lab as part of Chicago Ideas Week

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.