Chicago Heights distributes excess TIF money
Posted on 2009-02-18 09:13:50 CST
Chicago Heights aldermen on Tuesday night agreed to redistribute $1.5 million in excess funds from a special taxing district to local taxing bodies such as the city, park district and school districts.
The Lincoln Highway/Western Avenue tax increment financing district includes Ultra Foods, Marcus Theaters and the planned Food 4 Less store. It has $3 million in its fund, and half has been declared as extra revenue that can go to the affected taxing bodies, city attorney TJ Somer said.
The excess will be given to Cook County, which will redistribute the money to the taxing bodies based on the percentage of tax revenue they would've collected since 1989, when the TIF district was created, Somer said.
Those taxing bodies have lost out on the extra tax revenue generated by redevelopment within the TIF district, which provides substantial tax breaks to facilitate business growth over up to 23 years. That term can be extended, as it has in the Lincoln Highway/Western Avenue TIF, which now expires in 2024.
Once the TIF revenue is more than needed to pay off improvements within the TIF district, the money can go to the affected taxing bodies.
The city of Chicago Heights is slated to get about $350,000, Somer said.
That'll go to the city's general fund to make up for any shortfalls, Mayor Anthony DeLuca said, adding that giving out the extra money is "the right thing to do."
"That money could be much better utilized by taxing bodies than in the TIF fund," DeLuca said.
February 18, 2009
By Becky Schlikerman, staff writer
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