In the on-going saga of Chicago’s best kept secret - a shadow budget kept on a second set of books - the Chicago News Cooperative’s Mick Dumke takes a look at how Tax Increment Financing, once a behind-the-scenes function of the city’s development funds, has begun to appear front and center in both city wards and in the mayor’s race. more ›

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 ›

Yesterday, Rahm Emanuel waded into the subject of police reallocation by saying he'd rather hire an extra 250 police using tax increment financing funds. Emanuel suggested the new cops could work in the citywide Targeted Response Unit, but would work within high-crime areas that fall within TIF districts. more ›

City Colleges of Chicago received approval today to use $1.8 million in tax increment financing to take over the financially beleaguered Harold Washington Cultural Center in Bronzeville. The center, built on the site of the former Regal Theater, has long been plagued with cost overruns and accusations of patronage, nepotism, mismanagement and possible violations of federal tax law. more ›

Parents in the Pilsen neighborhood have ended a stand-off with Chicago Public School officials that saw a 40 day sit-in at a fieldhouse that was condemned to be demolished. CPS officials originally intended to demolish the fieldhouse and replace it with a soccer field that nearby Cristo Rey Jesuit high school would use. more ›

The Chicago Public School System and the parents who've been protesting the proposed razing of the Whittier Elementary School fieldhouse in Pilsen have agreed in principle to a deal that could end the sit-in. more ›

If you didn't attend any of Hideout's "Soup and Bread" events this winter, you're getting a mulligan today with an encore presentation featuring soups from Hideout bartender Anastasia Davies Hinschsliff Martha Bayne, Celestial Kitchens' Celeste Dolan, and Karen Gerod and the wonderful staff at Swim Caf&3233, which was a regular participant in the series. more ›