In the first runoff debate, Mayor Rahm Emanuel conceded that Chicago struggles with economic disparity. But he argued that “it is a false choice to pit one part of the city of Chicago against another.”
But about 48 percent of what he has committed to spend in TIF funds over the last four years has gone to these same favored communities, an area stretching roughly from the Gold Coast on the north to McCormick Place on the south and from the United Center on the west to the lake.
The TIF program was created to eradicate blight by subsidizing development in communities that would not be developed “but for” the assistance.
For instance, Mayor Emanuel approved spending $87 million in the LaSalle/Central TIF district in the Loop—and nothing at all in the 126th/Torrence district on the southeast side. In fact, no money was spent in 23 of the 149 TIF districts across the city.
But again, because of the inherent flaws in the program, there’s a vast disparity in who gets what for traffic lights, new streets, and CTA stops.
The big winner in the school funding game is Jones College Prep. The South Loop selective enrollment school is receiving $15.6 million for a new sports field as well as $9.3 million to renovate part of its old building.
