Tax increment financing is a city-run program designed to promote economic development in blighted areas by diverting property tax dollars into special funds. These funds are controlled by the city and are used for redevelopment and job growth.
In a TIF district, resident’s property taxes are frozen at a certain level. When property values rise, the excess tax dollars go into the TIF district’s fund used to pay for authorized projects in the defined area.
Users can search by address, project description, year and amount of TIF funding allocated to a particular project. Users can also add layers to see projects in relation to wards and TIF districts. Each point on the map contains a project description and additional information.
The raw data for all TIF projects, TIF districts and wards can be viewed and exported in Google FusionTables.
Much of this information was provided by the city in documents acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by ChicagoTalks reporters in Fall 2010. Other information was gathered from redevelopment agreements found on the city’s website. The original list of projects was provided by the Chicago Department of Community Development.
Information provided by the city was last updated on July 30th, 2010.
For more information about TIF, you can visit the following sites: