Posts tagged tax increment financing
CTU contract: Union’s tentative agreement with CPS will cost $1.5 billion; how will the city pay?
April 3, 2025 // The Civic Federation weighed in on the budget back-and-forth Tuesday. "That's the million-dollar question — or rather, the hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars question," the Civic Federation sad in a statement. "As of now, we don't have any further insight into how CPS plans to pay for the contract beyond the first year." Mayor Brandon Johnson was asked about that $175 million pension payment. "The contract is paid for by a separate entity of government, the Chicago Public Schools. And that, in part, is the responsibility of the CEO to be able to come up with mechanisms to be able to satisfy that," said Mayor Johnson. Martinez's suggestion to cover the pension payment is a tax levy.
Chicago Teachers Union urges city to end TIF districts, send $1 billion in funds to Chicago Public Schools
October 10, 2024 // TIF districts essentially freeze property taxes collected from a specific area, with the extra tax money generated from improved property values going to a fund intended to support development projects in blighted communities. But critics of TIF districts have said they amount to slush funds for elected officials to subsidize real estate developers without properly addressing the needs of low-income communities. CTU officials said their plan to sweep TIF funds back to CPS would help the district avoid mass program and personnel cuts, but it doesn't end there. They also said it would prevent school closures and staff furloughs, all of which they insist are currently on the table under CPS CEO Pedro Martinez's leadership.