April 29, 2009 :: Legislative

TIF Sunshine Transparency Ordinance Passes

On April 22, the Chicago City Council voted 48-0 in favor of the TIF Sunshine transparency ordinance requiring the Department of Community Development, formerly the Planning Department, to post online all publicly available Tax Increment Financing District documents. 

By making TIF-related documents available for review,  the City will not only create transparency in city spending but also reduce the amount of time and resources that city employees spend searching for TIF documents and processing FOIA requests.

The 160 TIF districts in the city generate a minimum of $500 million per year but these tax dollars are not shown on your tax bill. The TIF Sunshine ordinance as sponsored by Alderman Manny Flores and Lincoln Park Alderman Scott Waguespack is a first small step toward greater transparency in city spending. The full amended text is available on Ald. Waguespack's website and below.

http://www.scottforchicago.com/pdf/TIFSunshine.pdf