This effort to educate and eliminate the corruption of TIFs is a project of especially great importance in a city that so freely ignores the public interest and violates the Public Trust.
This group project has done a wonderful job of reaching out to all the public and group to help them understand the financial implications of TIF. Tom Tressor has been a terrific source of information and education to our Evanston community. The group is socially conscious, inclusive and and always ready to help.
CivicLab has done a fantastic job in raising awareness about the abuse and misuse of TIF funding in Chicago. I did not know what a TIF was before attending a public event where they shared information about a complex topic in easy to understand language. The information gathering and presentation of knowledge of TIFs helped me learn what to ask for and I believe it will continue to uplift communities of color in the city.
Over 800,000 people with disabilities live in the greater Chicago area. WE are without affordable, safe inclusive housing. We are the demographic representing the least percentage of home ownership. Further, housing options DO NOT take into account accessibility, often citing it as a nuisance and "too difficult to accomplish". The Civic Lab not only educates citizens to better understand the "nuances" of public finances, it effective engages us to catalyze change.
CivicLab's TIF Illumination Project has been a mainstay as a Chicago watchdog group this past decade. It is on a par in importance, relevance to daily life, and professional execution with Jamie Kalven and Craig Futterman's lawsuits and award-winning website for opening up police accountability, and as such CivicLab deserves as much attention and reward for their tireless efforts.
to Top