The good people of Pilsen have been hit with the greatest increases in their property taxes in the city. I delivered a TIF Illumination covering the Pilsen TIF for El Pueblo Manda last April (at no charge) as this grassroots group was deeply worried about being pushed out of their beloved community.
The Pilsen TIF is one of the city’s most active and voracious TIFs – gobbling up tens of millions of property tax dollars. You can get all the details on the Pilsen TIF plus all TIF activity in Chicago for 2023 by (1) Becoming a paid subscriber to “CivicNote” and then checking in the archives, or (2) Become a paid member of the TIF Illumination Project.
There was a dense presentation by Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez’s staffer, which was often hard to hear because of the acoustics in the elementary school gym where the meeting was being held (organized and run by the Alderman). Here is his take on the Pilsen TIF -> https://25thward.org/pilsen-tif. The decades-old Pilsen Alliance is opposed to the expansion -> https://www.facebook.com/thepilsenalliance.
There is a division in the community. Some business leaders and some residents think the expanded TIF will deliver benefits to the residents. Certainly, the Alderman believes that. He is promising to expand the Lozano Library ($50 million) and to build affordable housing units with the new TIF dollars. He also holds out the possibility that this new TIF money can provide property tax relief for residents – although that is a very long shot. He also promises that the people can review and guide the management of the new TIF through a committee he will name and convene.
I remain opposed to TIFs and I was in solidarity with the people protesting and holding signs, passing out fliers, coming to the mike with questions and frustration, and even shouting down the official speakers. I have seen this happen before.
People are desperate to get SOMETHING tangible to improve their communities. Especially Black and Latino neighborhoods long ignored by City Hall – some of which are now ripe for gentrification. Several people came to the mike to bitterly complain about skyrocketing property tax bills and declining city services. “I was born here! I love this community. I do not want to be forced to move!” was said in different ways over and again.
I have heard these pleas and complaints all over the city. This was my 236th public appearance dealing with civic finances and TIFs. I was asked to attend the meeting and was picked to be the first to offer a comment. Here is what I said ->
(2:39). It sounded like Alderman Sigcho-Lopez was angry with my remarks. The irony is that he brought me to Pilsen in 2015 to do a TIF Illumination of the 25th Ward when he first ran for Alderman.
TIFs may deliver a particular project that is beneficial to a community, but they are always a bad deal, in the end, for that community AND the entire city.
If you want to add your voice to the protest, click over to the Pilsen Alliance’s Action Network page -> https://actionnetwork.org/letters/no-pilsen-tif-expansion.