Property taxes and TIFs

Tax Increment Financing districts are ubiquitous in Chicago today. These funds take property tax money that would go directly into local parks and schools and are redirected into a general fund controlled by the Mayor. The general concensus in City Hall is that TIFs do not increase property taxes but, as any homeowner or renter whose housing bills have skyrocketed can attest, these taxes actually have increased. As property taxes increase so does the cost of living which can ultimately lead to the gentrification of the entire city since lower-income residents could no longer afford to live in the city. The effects of this are being felt already as many of those people pushed out of public housing have been unable to find housing within city limits due to exorbitant rents. This of course, weakens the very essence of the city of Chicago, a city that has always been a cross-section of diverging classes, not just those of higher-income. Of course, lower-income residents still live in the city and will continue to do so for some time but the less than visible push to eradicate them is already palpable.