Understanding the Process Step-By-Step

The following steps outline the process used by the City to create a TIF district. Many of the steps are required by state law, but the City has considerable leeway to implement the program the way it sees fit – particularly when it comes to adding new provisions that increase the level of public participation.

1. An alderman, developer, and/or community development organization enters into discussions with the City Dept. of Planning and Development (DPD) about the creation of a TIF district. TIFs used to be more “developer-driven,” meaning that the idea for a TIF originated with a private developer interested in a specific piece of land, but now the City more often establishes TIFs that cover entire neighborhoods, commercial areas, or industrial corridors.

2. A consultant is hired, either by the developer or by the City, to conduct an “eligibility study” and create a “redevelopment plan.” The City must send a public notice that an eligibility study is underway. While the City is not required to have any public meetings in the community at this stage in the process, community groups and NCBG have demanded early notification and community meetings and DPD has responded by holding more neighborhood meetings on proposed TIFs. These meetings are more likely to take place – and receive more widespread publicity – in neighborhoods that are well organized on the TIF issue.

3. In cases where 75 or more residential units are in the TIF, or 10 or more occupied residential units will be removed as a result of the TIF: At least 21 days before the adoption of an ordinance setting the date for a public hearing (see below), the City must have an additional public hearing on the housing impact of the plan. (For more information on the Housing Impact Study, see the NCBG fact sheet, “TIFs and Housing, p. 33.”)

4. The completed eligibility study and redevelopment plan are presented jointly at a meeting of the City of Chicago’s Community Development Commission (CDC). The CDC then orders a “public hearing,” an announcement of which must be published at least 14 days prior to the hearing in the legal notices section of a local newspaper. Property owners within the proposed TIF must be notified by mail at least 14 days before the hearing. Because of changes in the State TIF law demanded by community groups, individuals and organizations can sign up for the Interested Parties Registry and receive notice of the hearing by mail. (For more information, see the NCBG fact sheet, “The Interested Parties Registry,” p 136.)

5. Fourteen days after the TIF proposal is made to the CDC, the Joint Review Board — which includes all the local taxing bodies affected by the TIF — reviews and votes on the proposal. If the JRB votes to disapprove the proposal, at least 60 percent of the City Council must approve the TIF in order for it to become law. The JRB has never voted against a proposed TIF in Chicago. (For more information, see the NCBG fact sheet, “The Joint Review Board,” p 148.)

6. The official public hearing takes place at a regular monthly meeting of the CDC, held during the afternoon at City Hall. At the public hearing, the TIF proposal is presented and public comments are allowed. State law does not require the City to respond to those comments or act on public input regarding TIF districts, only that a public hearing take place.

7. The CDC meets after the public hearing (often at the same meeting, immediately following the hearing), and approves the TIF district proposal. The CDC almost never votes down a TIF proposal.

8. The proposal goes to the Chicago Plan Commission if it involves zoning and land use changes. The Plan Commission accepts public comments on the land use aspects of the TIF, though this “public hearing” closely resembles the one held by the CDC. The proposal may go to the Plan Commission before or after the CDC meeting.

9. After the public hearing at the CDC, the TIF proposal goes to the City Council for designation. The Finance Committee has a brief hearing on the proposal, at which public comment is accepted, then it goes to the full Council for approval.

10. Each time a private developer wishes to negotiate a specific subsidy — known as a “redevelopment agreement” — that proposal must be approved by the CDC and the City Council (including the Council’s Finance Committee). The redevelopment agreement goes through most of the same steps as the initial TIF proposal, including the opportunity for members of the community to make public comments on the proposal.