Contact: Valerie F.

Leonard
1414 South Hamlin 773-521-3137
c/o North Star Mission valeriefleonard@msn.com
Chicago, IL 60623
773-522-7610

Notes from the Joint Review Board

Meeting of January 4, 2008

The Meeting

The Joint Review Board (JRB), which consists of representatives from the local taxing bodies
that would be most impacted by the implementation of local tax increment financing
districts (TIFs) meets on the first Friday of every month at 10:00 a.m. in City Hall, Room
703. The last meeting was held on January 4, 2008.

I would estimate that there were 12 people in the room other than JRB members and the
court reporter: Alderman Dixon, an Aldermanic staff member, the public representative
appointed by the Alderman; 2 people from the Department of Planning and Development
(Chip Hastings and Patrick Brutus); Jenny Slosar from the Chi-Town Daily News; Megan
Sieberg from the North Lawndale Community News; Ann Moroney, a consultant from
Johnson Research Group; 3 people from the Lawndale Alliance (Debbie Cannon, Margaret
Jean Guyton and Valerie Leonard); about 4 other people.

It should be noted that the general public does not normally attend these meetings as they
are not public hearings. However the meetings are subject to the Open Meetings Act. The
public may attend but not participate.

Ms. Tanya Anthony was elected the temporary chairperson and presided over the meeting.
(I don't know what taxing body she represents) The meeting began with background
information regarding the rules of conduct for the audience, and an indication that the
meeting was publicized through a posting at City Hall on January 2 nd, 2008. Ms. Anthony
indicated that according to state code, whenever a TIF could potentially displace residents, a
housing impact study is done, and a low-income community resident must be selected to
participate in the JRB meeting. Renee Jackson, who resides on the 1800 block of South
Central Park Avenue, was appointed as the public member.

Ms. Anthony then stated that by State Code, the only criterion the JRB may vote on is
whether the Proposed Ogden-Pulaski TIF fits eligibility criteria set forth by the Code.
(Interestingly enough, the state code apparently does not provide that a detailed analysis
be performed to determine the potential impact to each of the effected taxing bodies. The
question never came up during the meeting, even though 5 taxing bodies will be forgoing
property tax revenues for 23 (or more) years).

Ms. Ann Moroney, consultant with Johnson Research Group, provided a brief overview of the
Proposed Ogden-Pulaski TIF Redevelopment Plan, highlighting boundaries, eligibility criteria,
the current and future EAV within the Project Area, and the number of properties that could
be potentially displaced.
Alderman Dixon exercised her privilege as an elected official, and asked if the numbers
presented in the plan were "estimates". Ms. Moroney’s response indicated that the numbers
were indeed estimates.

The Cook County representative asked how many people could be displaced, and Ann
Moroney replied 41 housing units could be displaced. (Assuming 4 residents per housing
unit, this could translate into about 160 people). No one else had questions, including the
low income public member. With there being no further questions, the Joint Review Board
voted unanimously that the Proposed Ogden-Pulaski TIF Redevelopment Plan was in
compliance with the eligibility requirements set forth by the State of Illinois. This action
effectively sent the plan to the Community Development Commission for a public hearing,
scheduled for February 12, 2008, at 1:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall. There
being no further questions, the meeting was adjourned.

My Thoughts

I want to make it abundantly clear that I am not anti-TIF or anti-development. However, I

believe that there should be increased accountability and transparency so that the local
citizens may make informed decisions as to whether our limited resources are being used
for the public good as a whole, as opposed to serving the interests of a few well-placed
foundations, nonprofits and developers.

Having said that, I think there is a disconnect between the stated purpose of the Joint
Review Board meeting and what actually happened during the meeting of January 6th. The
meetings are supposedly convened to notify taxing bodies that could be potentially
impacted by the TIF that the TIF would be implemented. However, Ms. Anthony stated that
by law, the Joint Review Board is only required to vote on whether or not the TIF fits the
eligibility requirements set forth by State Code. It would seem to me that there would be a
requirement to do an impact study on how much money the taxing bodies such as the
Chicago Public Schools, Chicago City Colleges, Cook County, Chicago Park District and
Chicago general fund would not be receiving over the next 23 years because of the TIF.
The impact to the various taxing bodies should be the main focus of the meeting.

There are over 160 TIFs in the City of Chicago. Together, they have generated over $500
million in revenue during the year 2007 alone. This money, which is not disclosed in the
City’s annual financial statements, cannot be touched for general City operations. It
should be noted that the City of Chicago just passed a record high property tax increase to
cover a projected $217 million budget shortfall for FY 2008. The Chicago Public Schools had
to increase property taxes $55 million last fall in order to fund the projected CPS 2008
budget shortfall and program expansion. According to Chicago Public Radio’s City Room
News In Brief (September 4, 2007), Chicago Public Schools has raised taxes for 11 of the
past 13 years. (Note that while the TIF program has been around for 30 years, its use has
accelerated significantly in the past 13 years.) Cook County still has not closed the
projected $307 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2008.

I was also disappointed that there was no mention of the fact that the Lawndale Alliance
presented a letter to the Joint Review Board, as well as a copy of the letter to the
Community Development Commission outlining a significant list of our concerns with the
Ogden-Pulaski TIF. While we were told that this letter was maintained as a part of the
permanent record, at no point during the meeting was mention was made of the fact that
the letter was received. As a result, the fact that the letter was received is not a part of the
minutes.
We have voiced our concerns to Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele, who promised
he would do what he could at the County level to make sure the Proposed Ogden-Pulaski
TIF works in the best interests of the local tax payers. We have sent several e-mail
transmittals, copies of letters to numerous stakeholders, as well as letters directly to
Commissioner Steele, reminding him of his promises, and to check on the status of his
advocacy. It is not clear what has been accomplished at this time. One of our requests of
Commissioner Steele was to ask the Cook County representative to withhold his support of
the project until the outstanding issues could be resolved. The Cook County representative
voted along with the other representatives.

Finally, I would really liked to have seen the people representing the North Lawndale
Community take an active role in making sure that the interests of the community were
being met. I would have liked to have seen Ms. Jackson (the public representative) ask
questions about how the project would impact the North Lawndale Community. Likewise, I
would like to have seen Alderman Dixon use her Aldermanic privilege to ask questions
regarding the broad range of issues her constituents have raised regarding the plan over
the past 7 months. (Most of these issues have not been addressed, let alone resolved).
Ideally, Alderman Dixon should have insisted that the plan not go forward until such time as

1. Alderman Dixon and Alderman Munoz meet with the community to share which of
the suggestions provided by the community were incorporated into the plan; (As it
turns out, none of the suggestions provided by the public was incorporated into the
plan or the budget)
2. they address concerns raised by the community;
3. the TIF Advisory Council is selected; participates in an orientation process; has an
opportunity to read the redevelopment plan and provide informed advice.

This approach would have given Alderman Dixon the optimum leverage to make sure the
plan was truly reflective of the desires of the community. Instead, the plan is running full
steam ahead. At the rate we are going, the plan will have gone through the approval
process without the creation of the TIF Advisory Council she and Alderman Munoz promised
to have in place by the end of November, 2007. This could be most troubling to the rank
and file property owner who will be asked to foot the $300,000,000 bill over the next 23
years.

A Call to Action

It is not too late to voice your concerns regarding the Proposed Ogden-Pulaski TIF
Redevelopment Plan. Call Alderman Sharon Dixon at 773-522-2430 and Alderman Ricardo
Munoz at 773–762-1771. Let them know that the redevelopment plan needs to be reviewed
by the community and the TIF Advisory Council before going any further with the formal
approval process.