27/08/2026
📢NEW REPORT - Chicago’s Runaway Development Tool: Who Paid and Who Gained from 40+ Years of Tax Increment Financing
The UIC Great Cities Institute has released a new report examining more than four decades of Chicago’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program and whether it has delivered the public benefits its massive scale suggests.
According to the study’s main findings:
â–Ş Between 2014 and 2023, TIF increased property tax rates citywide by an estimated average of 13.7 percent. For a typical Chicago homeowner with a $300,000 home, the additional tax attributable to the TIF tax shift was $878 in 2023, and it totaled $6,616 over the 10-year period studied.
â–Ş Much of the property value growth captured by TIF would likely have occurred even without the program., while only 1.8 percent of growth in property values within TIF districts was directly attributable to TIF-supported development.
▪ TIF benefits have been distributed unevenly across the city, with more than half of tracked TIF project spending since 1986 going to Chicago’s downtown or neighborhoods near downtown.
"Meanwhile, substantial property tax growth was funneled into TIF funds rather than immediately supporting public services like schools, libraries, and parks," said Juan D. González, lead author of the study.
While the report recognizes recent reforms under Mayor Brandon Johnson as positive, it argues that deeper structural changes are still needed. The authors recommend stronger transparency, allowing more revenue to remain available for schools, phasing out downtown TIF districts that have achieved their goals, and redirecting resources toward small businesses and historically underserved neighborhoods.
🎥 The full report and recording of the Aug. 26 press conference are now available on the Great Cities Institute website:
https://greatcities.uic.edu/news-stories/chicagos-tax-increment-financing-who-paid-who-gained/
Read the report and watch the press conference to learn more about what more than 40 years of TIF have meant for Chicago.
Chicago’s Tax Increment Financing: Who Paid, Who Gained? Juan González, Matthew D. Wilson, Teresa Córdova, and Jason "Jay" Campos | Posted on August 26, 2026 Executive Summary Copy link This report from the UIC Great Cities Institute examines more than four decades of Chicago’s use of Tax Incr...
