TIF Sunshine Ordinance Passes Committee

According to Ald. Manny Flores's (1st) Facebook status (and confirmed by his staff), a rule that would force the city of Chicago to post information about city development financing online passed committee today. The TIF Sunshine ordinance, would require the city of Chicago to post tax increment financing-related documents online at a purpose-built Web site, goes to city council tomorrow. If it passes that final hurdle, it means a degree of transparency heretofore unseen in city politics. At the moment, concerned citizens, politicians and reporters have to dig through piles of city documents in a labor-intensive and time consuming process. The result, so far, has been a murky slush fund of more than $500 million and inhibited reporting. Da Mayor has yet to say anything about it publicly. For more on the TIF Sunshine ordinance, check out this info from The Reader. Update: Check out Flores' press release [PDF].