Contact: Jacqueline C. Leavy
312-939-7198
The Neighborhood Capital Budget Group today released a new study detailing the City’s capital spending priorities. The report -
Chicago’s Public Works Program: Is It Working For Everyone? -
tracks how well each of Chicago’s 50 wards have fared when it comes to securing basic public investments such as streets, sidewalks, and sewers. NCBG’s analysis finds that despite substantial progress in addressing neighborhoods’ needs, disparities persist between downtown and the rest of the City. The top 10 wards are slated to get nearly 40 percent of all City infrastructure spending, while the bottom 10 wards only expect to receive 13 percent of the total.
"Infrastructure investments are vital to Chicago’s economic health and quality of life," said NCBG Board President Mildred Wiley. "Jobs, economic growth, and healthy neighborhoods depend on basic nuts-and-bolts public works investments."
Among the report’s findings are:
- The City isn’t keeping pace with basic neighborhood wear and tear:
90 percent of Chicago’s wards don’t get enough to keep their aging infrastructure from crumbling.
- City Hall misses the mark on industrial opportunities:
Almost two-thirds of future industrial infrastructure projects are unfunded, a sad fact that reveals the weakness of the City’s commitment to its industrial job base. The City’s own analysis, prepared by Arthur Andersen, urges City Hall to invest more in industrial infrastructure or risk losing out on major job opportunities.
- The tax increment financing program is widening the public investment gap between downtown and Chicago’s neighborhoods.
By itself, the 42nd Ward received over three-fourths of all TIF infrastructure allocations, while TIFs in truly blighted neighborhoods are slated for almost nothing when it comes to local improvements.
The City must rethink its strategy for investing in Chicago’s future. NCBG calls on the City to:
- Prioritize badly needed neighborhood projects over those in downtown and near-Loop wards.
The revenues from the 1999 General Obligation Bond issue should go exclusively to projects that will enhance the economic and job base of Chicago’s neighborhoods.
- Accelerate implementation of neighborhoods’ Model Industrial Corridor plans, and assess the infrastructure needs of other neighborhood industrial corridors.
- Institute community oversight committees to help prioritize TIF spending on neighborhood infrastructure improvements and job creation for local residents.
NCBG is a coalition of nearly 200 grassroots neighborhood groups and community development organizations. NCBG works to ensure fair and equitable public investment to help rebuild Chicago’s neighborhoods.
