Residents and organizations alike are working diligently to review and demand changes to the City’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plans for the North Lawndale and East Garfield communities. Since October 1999, the City has quietly and slowly unveiled its land use and redevelopment plans for the Mid-West TIF district. But as news hit residents and property owners, local stakeholders moved quickly to stop the City in its tracks to demand greater citizen oversight in the planning process.

The City’s proposed Mid-West TIF plan calls for:

• Combining all six redevelopment plans covering the Mid-West (dating back to the Mid 1970s).
• Developing a greenway that will link Douglas Park and East Garfield Park.
• Constructing and occupying over 2,300 new residential units by 2016.
• Spending $5 million on job training, retraining, and Welfare to Work over the 23 years life of the TIF.

"Again, these plans were created downtown, far removed from local planning groups, and more importantly, far from residents," said Thelma Mosby, community leader with the Lake/Homan Organizing Committee. The Committee is responsible for the $14 million reconstruction of the historic Lake-Homan Station on the Green Line (CTA was forced to reopen this station). "It’s only right that we demand changes that will genuinely reflect our community’s vision, not just outside consultants."

In December 1999, the City’s Community Development Commission (CDC) held its public hearing regarding the Mid-West TIF. Over 200 residents attended the hearing and ademanently opposed the City’s immediate push for TIF approval. Responding to public pressure, Alderman Ed Smith (28^th) and Alderman Michael Chandler (24^th) urged the CDC to postpone their approval until more public meetings are held.

"Clearly the community and its representatives were disappointed about the City’s handling of this critically important land development plan," said John Paul Jones, director of community outreach with the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group (NCBG). NCBG staffs a citywide TIF Task Force that is working on public policy reforms governing TIF planning and development in Chicago. "Through local meetings, local stakeholders found a host of issues in the City’s plan that need to be addressed before City Council votes."

The community is pushing for changes to the plan that bring greater community control over planning and more direct benefits to current residents. A coalition of residents and organizations are calling for a host of Community Principles before the City Council votes on this TIF. The city should:

• Support the formation of a Mid-West Community TIF Panel appointed by other community residents and stakeholders to monitor the TIF program and make necessary amendments to the plan in order to meet community goals.
• Disclose ALL current and previously developed Land Acquisition Maps. (The City has yet provided the community a copy of its acquisition plans or maps.)
• Put a moratorium on any further demolition of existing structures pending the recommendations of community bodies, in particular the properties identified as historically significant. (Over 700 structures within the TIF have been recognized as historically significant).
• Guarantee replacement housing for any resident who may be displaced by any TIF-related or other development activities and who wish to remain in the community.
• Contribute money up-front toward housing and business improvements in addition to any bank-funded program such as the City’s Neighborhood Investment Fund (NIF) or Small Business Investment Fund (SBIF).
• Make a host of amendments already identified by residents such as the 16^th Street Land Use Plan, removing specific properties from the acquisition map and to extend the TIF boundary to include the Lake/Homan Planning Area (Lake to Fulton – Kedzie to Central Park).
• Adopt a host of other community demands outlining their position on the Mid-West TIF

"A great deal of public disinvestment has occurred in East Garfield," states Rev. Steven Stultz, Executive Director of AGAPE and a life-long resident of the neighborhood. "We hope to use the TIF and other development tools to stabilize our housing base and support local rehabilitation efforts."

For the past two months, community organizations have organized a host of meetings to review the City’s TIF plan and recommend changes. The organizations leading the efforts are Community Action Group of Lawndale, Lawndale Business and Local Development Corporation, Agency Metropolitan Program Services (AMPS), AGAPE House, Garfield Area Partners, Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, and the Lake/Homan Organizing Committee.