Cook County Clerk David called for a minimum six month moratorium on creating new TIF districts in the city yesterday, at least until Daley's term ends in May. “TIF Districts are supposed to generate economic development where it otherwise would not occur,” Orr told the Tribune. “They were not created to be a rainy day fund or a safety net when the economy went sour. Too often, Chicago’s policy has been to collect millions in a piggy bank and decide how to spend it later.” He said he hopes a comprehensive review of TIF districts can be done in the meantime. (The Reader's Ben Joravsky has the definitive breakdown of how TIFs work here.) more ›

• Legendary Chicago architect John Holabird passed away yesterday at the age of 88.
• Our pal Justin Kaufmann over at WBEZ's blog has a copy of Cook County Clerk David Orr's alleged open letter to Sen. Burris calling for Burris to resign.
• Like it or not, President Obama signed off on the $787 billion stimulus package today.

It seems there's a bit of a trouble with the scheduled dates of the special elections called to fill Rahm Emanuel's vacated seat in U.S. Congress. Cook County Clerk David Orr's office is required to allow 45 days between primary and election dates to allow absentee voters - including those in the military - to return their ballots. There are, however, only 35 days between the scheduled March 3 primary and April 7 election. Orr will go before a federal judge tomorrow and ask that his office be allowed to use ballots via fax and email in addition to regular mail so that the current dates, set by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, can stand. more ›