To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Chicago City Council has passed on a proposal that would have made TIF documents available for public view. The bill's sponsors, Aldermen Manny Flores (1st) and Scott Waguespack (32nd), had accumulated a list of 20 council members (themselves included) in support of the package, but the bill was still tabled. The Reader's Mike Dumke breaks it down: more ›

Ask, and ye shall receive. After Saturday’s post about a possible TIF transparency requirement, we bothered Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd, pictured right) about the list of his fellows who signed on in favor of the proposal. He says he ran out of time to gather more than the 20* signatures below at the city council meeting last week - but that he hopes to get about nine more in the coming weeks. The ordinance would require documents relating to TIFs - from weekly payroll reports to annual filings - appear on their own website, indexed for the ease of public use. The new people on Mayor Daley's "enemies list" are: more ›

News you may have missed from over the weekend. more ›

The public has always been in the dark, it seems, about TIFs, the way they are used to pay for city improvement projects and the beneficiaries. Therefore we’re thrilled to hear about a new “TIF Sunshine” ordinance being proposed in the City Council. Wicker Park Aldermen Manny Flores (1st) and Scott Waguespack (32nd) submitted an ordinance - now backed by 22 council members including senior Alderman Bernard Stone (50th) - that would force city government to post all TIF documents, from weekly payroll filings to annual reports, on a city-funded website. The pair argued that the benefits of the service, in terms of time and transparency, far outweigh the small costs of the endeavor. Check out the ordinance here [PDF]. more ›