The petition
We, the citizens of Cook County, demand that the Tax Increment Program be reformed to make it transparent and accountable. This program took in over $800 million in 2006, with over $600 million from the City of Chicago. This program is seriously weakening the finances of the region and should be reformed as follows:
(1) Run the TIF funds through the City and County budgets.
(2) Put the impact of TIFs on the annual property tax bills all citizens receive.
(3) Require TIF plans to be published with goals and budgets.
(4) Analyze TIFs for impact and effectiveness. Shut down TIF districts that do not comply with guidelines or whose purpose is contrary to the original intent of stemming blight that has no other source of funding remediation.
(5) Publish maps and data about the TIF program online and in forms that can be captured by the public easily.
(6) Require impact analysis of TIFs on other units of local government.
(7) Allow inflation rates to be factored into calculating the rising value of property in and therefor the flow of funds from all TIF districts.
(8) Closely regulate the "porting" of funds from one TIF district to another by some numeric or percentage basis.
(9) Abolish the Chicago Community Development Commission, which is simply an extension of the office of the mayor, and replace it with an independent body with significant community representation.
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