Chicago TIF revenue up more than 27%
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts in Cook County will bring in nearly $1.2 billion for tax year 2018, according to a report Wednesday from Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough’s office. This is a 17.4% increase over last year. TIF revenue has increased 27.4% in the City of Chicago and decreased 1.6% in the suburbs compared to last year.
The Clerk’s full 2018 TIF Revenue Report shows Chicago TIFs will generate approximately $841 million in tax revenue from its 138 TIFs in the 2018 tax year. This is a $181 million increase over last year and includes nearly $116 million for the City’s “Transit TIF” located on the north side of the City[1]. Last year, Chicago TIF revenue saw an increase of $99 million. The 303 suburban TIFs are expected to bring in $339 million, a $5 million decrease from last year. Clerk Yarbrough announced the findings of her report at a Wednesday morning press conference.
“As a taxpayer and property owner, as well as an elected official who has to answer to the people of Cook County, I want to know where my tax dollars are going, if I live in a TIF District, and how this affects the distribution of tax revenue,” Clerk Yarbrough said. “I am committed to ensuring that all Cook County’s taxpayers, be they Chicago or suburban property owners, have the information and tools available to see where TIFs are and how much revenue they generate.”
The graph below shows TIF Revenue and the number of TIFs in Chicago and the Suburbs for the past 33 years that TIF has been utilized in Cook County.
TIFs account for 8% of property taxes billed in Cook County.
The $1.2 billion derived from TIFs in Cook County amounts to 8% of the total property tax ($14.9 billion) billed to Cook County taxpayers this year. Last year, $1 billion in TIF revenue accounted for 7% of the $14.4 billion property tax total. TIFs account for 13% of the total tax billed for all taxing districts in the City of Chicago and 4% of the total tax billed for all taxing districts in the suburbs this year. These distributions are displayed on the pie chart below.
