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TIFs Tue Oct 20 2009
PI on TIF Welfare
Josh Kalven of Progress Illinois digs into the business-luring TIF deal--a program the Mayor once referred to as the only game in town for economic development--and points out just one of the many problems with it: it puts the public on the hook without making any real demands on the corporations who receive our largess. It's harder to reduce your student loan payments than it is to get tens of millions of dollars of public money.
Indeed, when the ink dries on the each of these deals, the debate in the press inevitably surrounds the cost-per-job estimates and the various long-term revenue projections stemming from the agreement. But what's missing is any method for examining the previous contracts. No one digs into the earlier relocations to see whether they fulfilled expectations and were ultimately worth the public investment. Instead, we're greeted with a perpetual refrain: "Trust us." "We know what we're doing." "Trust us."
