Begrudgingly, it seems, the city of Chicago made public a new TIF website, per the new ordinance passed back in April. Of course, it sucks. How do we know? Well, besides the fact that they were too embarrassed to link to it in their own press release, Progress Illinois government transparency enthusiast-hackers Dan O'Neil and Max Brooks went through page-by-page and evaluated its strengths (the information is, technically, there) and its weaknesses. They say (and we agree) that the site is a hard-to-use, poorly organized conglomeration of information at this stage in its development. We hope this first-ever attempt to put Chicago's public documents online in this way is in beta. more ›

Mega-airline United Airlines is looking at a relocation to the Willis Tower and the City is doing everything it can to lure the new business into downtown. To help lure the business (and its nearly 3,000 workers) from its current Elk Grove digs, the City is also putting together around $25 million in incentives. No details have been discussed publicly. Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) - who's ward includes the Willis Tower - told the Tribune, "The final numbers haven't been presented to me." According to Fioretti, that incentive money would come from - where else - a TIF fund. [Tribune] more ›

Today, aldermen learned that the time-frame for suing Republic Windows & Doors to recoup $9.3 million in TIF funds that was issued to the company has expired. The money was given to Republic on the condition "that the company create 549 jobs and retain them for eight years." Unfortunately for the city, that agreement was signed in June 1998, meaning it expired two-and-a-half years ago. Corporation Counsel Mara Georges told the City Council today that even if the city did have legal standing to sue Republic, their chances of succeeding were slim: "It's a bankruptcy with very few assets. They don't even own the building anymore. It's a market dependent on the construction industry. And with the economy being what it is, they don't have a lot of prospects." Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) was among many aldermen who called for amending future TIF deals to prevent a similar occurrence, saying, "Republic Windows clearly knew that something was wrong as their business declined. They didn't tell anybody. They basically just walked out of town on us." more ›