Sept. 15, 2011
12 to 1:30 pm
Metropolitan Planning Council
140 S. Dearborn St., Suite 1400
Chicago, Ill.
Since 1986 more than $7.5 billion has been collected in tax increment financing (TIF) funding in the City of Chicago and suburban Cook County. A sizable portion of these proceeds have supported school construction, community improvements, and affordable housing in neighborhoods across Chicago, proving TIF as a good tool for community development.
Yet growing public concern has focused on the perception that TIF is over-used in the Loop, in particular to attract corporations to relocate downtown. To make the program more effective, many have called for stronger standards for defining blight, as well as greater accountability and transparency in the funding allocation process. In response to these concerns, Mayor Rahm Emanuel created the Task Force on TIF Reform, charged with a top-to-bottom evaluation of the City’s $500 million TIF program, and consisting of economic and finance experts chaired by Carole Brown, MPC board member and managing director at Barclays Capital. On Aug. 29, the task force released its recommendations, which include creating a comprehensive economic development plan with which all TIF-funded projects must align; forming an internal governing body with authority to oversee TIF; implementing measures toward greater transparency and accountability; and clearly defining performance metrics for TIF-funded projects.
Join the Metropolitan Planning Council on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011, for a roundtable discussion on how to advance TIF reforms in Chicago. Carole Brown will present the task force’s recommendations. Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th Ward) will share his thoughts on how to enact the task force’s recommendations, as well as his ideas on the use of TIF in his ward. Jacques Sandberg will describe how The Community Builders, Inc. – one of the country’s largest and most accomplished nonprofit development corporations – has used TIFs to bridge the financing gap in underdeveloped and underserved communities in Chicago. Steven Quasny, managing director of community development lending and investments at BMO Harris Bank, will moderate the discussion.
Register for the roundtable at MPC’s web site (https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=576381) . Lunch will be provided. You may request a vegetarian meal when you register.
Cost is $15 for current MPC donors, and $30 for all others. Space is limited, so register soon (https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=576382) .
This is the first event of a three-part infrastructure roundtable series, which also will include discussions on transportation infrastructure investment and utility infrastructure sustainability. Check MPC’s web calendar (https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=576383) for details.
R.A.G.E. 