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Lightfoot Plans to Continue TIF Program, With Changes
Incoming Mayor Lori Lightfoot made waves last month when, after dropping her opposition to $1.6 billion in tax increment financing (TIF) for two mega-projects, she told the developers that “you’re never going to get a deal like this again out of the city of Chicago as long as I’m mayor.”
However, Lightfoot, who took office on Monday, intends to continue the program.
In a report released on the eve of her inauguration, Lightfoot made it clear that while TIF is “a great policy” in theory, “the system must be changed.” She said the TIF process “needs to be reframed as a two-way conversation between the government and affected communities.”
Over the new administration’s first 100 days, Lightfoot intends to convene an advisory council to analyze the state of TIFs, and how TIF money is spent. Future TIF districts should center on “areas with the highest employment disparities and greatest needs,” she added.
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- ◦Economy
- ◦Financing
- ◦Development
