By Chris Katsaros and Darius Vinesar
Grassroots activist Tom Tresser pointed at a map of Chicago and said, “No other major city in America has this kind of…infection.”
“It’s what it is, an infection.”
What Tresser was referring to was tax increment financing.
The practice of tax increment financing, or TIF, originated in California in the early 1950’s. Since then, TIF legislation has found some kind of use in every state except Arizona. TIF is used extensively in the Midwest, especially in Chicago for projects such as the 78 and the developments at Lincoln Yards.
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