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The Chicago Reader

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Columns & Opinion, On Politics Mar 3, 2021
The last bastion

Maria Pappas reveals the dirty not-so-secret inequity of TIFs.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Maria Pappas, tax increment financing, TIFs, Mayor Lightfoot, Bridget Gainer, Bridget Degnen, Brandon Johnson, Stanley Moore, Dennis Deer, Deborah Sims, Rahm Emanuel, Richard M. Daley, Ronny Chieng

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Aug 11, 2020
Unwelcome news

The unfairness in Chicago’s TIF program continues.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Lori Lightfoot, Richard Daley, Rahm Emanuel, David Brown, Chris Taliaferro, Brian Hopkins, tax increment financing, TIFs, Langston Hughes, Lincoln Yards, the 78, Karen Yarbrough, looting

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Jun 30, 2020
Cops in schools

For years the schools of Chicago have been pawns in the mayor’s budget games.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Lori Lightfoot, Rahm Emanuel, Richard M. Daley, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Board of Education, Elizabeth Todd-Breland, Amy Rome, Luisiana Melendez, TIFs, George Floyd, Laquan McDonald, Black Lives Matter

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Jan 22, 2020
Pie crumbs

Chicago is really bad at fairly slicing the economic development pie.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Lori Lightfoot, Walter Burnett, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, TIFs, tax increment financing, Lincoln Yards, Martin Luther King, Jr., Harold Washington, Maurice Cox, Fran Spielman

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Oct 30, 2019
The good old TIF mayonnaise jar

To settle the teachers’ strike Mayor Lightfoot should scrape some more “mayonnaise” from the TIF slush fund.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Teachers Union, CTU, CPS, Rahm Emanuel, Lori Lightfoot, Richard M. Daley, Tom Tresser, TIFs, tax increment financing, Lincoln Yards

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Aug 28, 2019
Lori’s Gettysburg Address

Look for the mayor to blame the budget deficit on Rahm but not Lincoln Yards.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Lori Lightfoot, Rahm Emanuel, Scott Waguespack, Patrick O’Connor, Grassroots Collaborative, Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, Neil Cohen, Lincoln Yards, Sterling Bay, TIFs, tax Increment financing, Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Aug 8, 2019
A modest proposal

As long as Chicagoans don’t care about TIFs, let’s turn the city into a giant TIF district to pay our bills.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, TIFs, tax increment financing, Cook County Clerk, Karen Yarbrough, Rahm Emanuel, Richard Daley, Lincoln Yards, Lori Lightfoot, economic development

Columns & Opinion, On Politics May 16, 2019
Race to the bottom

The great debate: Was Mayor Rahm worse than Mayor Daley?
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Mayor Rahm, Mick Dumke, Richard M. Daley, TIFs, Lincoln Yards, the 78

Columns & Opinion, On Politics May 9, 2019
Let’s make a deal

If corporate Chicago wants money for One Central, it should drop its fight against Pritzker’s Fair Tax initiative.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Robert Dunn, Landmark Development, One Central, Lincoln Yards, TIF, TIFs, Lori Lightfoot, Governor Pritzker, Fair Tax initiative, Greg Baise

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Mar 22, 2019
Mayor Rahm rewrites history

Tall tales about Lincoln Yards and CPS are part of Rahm’s attempt to make us forget Mayor 1 Percent.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Politics, Rahm, TIFs, CPS, the atlantic, Lincoln yards

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Mar 18, 2019
A tale of two gardens

Woodlawn gets a grocery store and Lincoln Yards gets $1.3 billion in Mayor Rahm's Chicago.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Lincoln Yards, CIVL, TIFs, Mayor Rahm, Sterling Bay, Brian Hopkins, Clarence Darrow, Tom Allen

News & Politics, Politics Feb 18, 2019
Five challengers take on 46th Ward alderman Cappleman from the left

Gentrifying Uptown may be ready for the return of Helen Shiller’s spirit.
- By Maya Dukmasova
- Tags: Politics, 46th Ward, Uptown, East Lakeview, James Cappleman, Helen Shiller, aldermanic election, Angela Clay, Marianne Lalonde, Erika Wozniak Francis, Jon-Robert McDowell, Justin Kreindler, poverty, homelessness, affordable housing, single room occupancy hotels, SRO, SROs, SRO preservation, Lawrence House, Wilson Yards, Stewart Elementary School, Stewart School Lofts, CAPS, CHA, Chicago Housing Authority, social service, ONE Northside, ONE People’s Campaign, Alan Mills, Uptown People’s Law Center, gentrification, basketball, basketball hoops, broken windows policing, Amy Crawford, Kate Walz, TIFs

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Feb 18, 2019
Just call Tom Tunney Alderman Lucky

In the Ricketts family, Tom Tunney has the best enemies an alderman seeking reelection could have.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Tom Tunney, Tom Ricketts, Laura Ricketts, Todd Ricketts, Pete Ricketts, Austin Baidas, Elizabeth Shydlowski, Dennis Culloton, Terry Cosgrove, Personal PAC, Rahm Emanuel, Bernie Hansen, Wrigley Field, Lakeview, 44th ward, Lincoln Yards, the 78, TIFs

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Feb 11, 2019
The many lives of Alderman Danny Solis

Solis swapped his loyalty to Daley and Rahm for sex, Viagra, and the council’s zoning chair.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Danny Solis, Richard Daley, Rahm Emanuel, Black Panthers, Ambrosio Medrano, Pilsen, TIFs, Lincoln Yards, Ed Burke, Roberto Caldero, Sun-Times, Viagra, Chicago City Council, zoning committee, UNO, United Neighborhood Organization

News & Politics, Politics Feb 4, 2019
Q&A with mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle

"It's really critical that as mayor you have good working relationships with all of the constituencies that make up the city."
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: Politics, Cook County Board, charter schools, Mayor Rahm, Mayor Daley, school closures, TIFs, Chicago Public Schools, Lincoln Yards, Brian Hopkins, Bill Daley, Ed Burke, Chicago Teachers Union

News & Politics, Politics Jan 28, 2019
Different planets

A tale of two endorsement sessions—the Tribune v. the Grassroots Collaborative
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: Politics, Chicago mayoral election, mayoral election 2019, Chicago Tribune editorial board, mayoral endorsements, mayoral endorsement session, mayoral forum, Grassroots Collaborative, community activists, mayoral candidates, Toni Preckwinkle, Lori Lightfoot, Amara Enyia, Susana Mendoza, La Shawn Davis, Willie Wilson, New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, #ReimagineChicago Mayoral Forum, #ReimagineChicago, Lincoln Yards, Rezko Field, the 78, Garry "Big Mac" McCarthy, Paul Vallas, Bill Daley, Gery Chico, gentrification, tax increment financing, TIF district, TIFs, Ashley Galvan Ramos, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Bruce Dold, John Kass, Chicago City Council, rubber-stamping

News & Politics, Politics Jan 24, 2019
Q&A with mayoral candidate Amara Enyia

The candidate has a passion for public policy—but will it sway voters?
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: Politics, Amara Enyia, 2019 mayoral campaign, Lincoln Yards, TIFs, Ed Burke, Chance the Rapper, Council Wars, Harold Washington, Rahm Emanuel

News & Politics, Feature Dec 18, 2018
Mayoral forum recap: all the answers, none of the bullshit

At back-to-back forums last week 11 candidates fielded questions and even provided some answers.
- By Maya Dukmasova
- Tags: Feature, Politics, News, Chicago mayor, mayoral election, Toni Preckwinkle, Ja’mal Green, Lori Lightfoot, Amara Enyia, Garry McCarthy, Dorothy Brown, Paul Vallas, Gery Chico, Susana Mendoza, Willie Wilson, La Shawn Ford, Rahm Emanuel, political debate, candidate forum, elections, Chicago Housing Initiative, CHI, Jefferson Park, UIC Forum, Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Association of Realtors, Ben Joravsky, Copernicus Center, One North Side, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Donald Trump, President Trump, Mayor Rahm, rent control, affordable housing, lead, People for Community Recovery, Access Living, 38th Ward Democrats, Patti Vasquez, Fraternal Order of Police, Kevin Graham, police accountability, police reform, Laquan McDonald, Chicago Public Schools, CPS, school closures, Affordable Requirements Ordinance, ARO, Altgeld Gardens, environmental justice, environmental racism, Real Estate Transfer Tax, public housing, Chicago Housing Authority, CHA, community benefits agreement, Obama Presidential Center, Obama Library, Barack Obama, President Barack Obama, aldermanic prerogative, pensions, Lincoln Yards, Sterling Bay, TIFs, Tax Increment Financing, development

Blogs, Bleader Nov 15, 2018
More than 100 people showed up at a public meeting in order to save the Hideout

Instead Alderman Brian Hopkins announced he'd already introduced a zoning ordinance to protect the beloved bar.
- By Marissa De La Cerda
- Tags: Music, Neighborhoods, News, Politics, The Hideout, Alderman Brian Hopkins, Lincoln Yards, Cortland/Chicago River TIF, TIFs, Sterling Bay, Tim Tuten, Katie Tuten

Blogs, Bleader Aug 27, 2018
Governor Rauner vetoes a tax break for Englewood while offering billions to Amazon

Governor Rauner has put the kibosh on state rep Sonya Harper's urban agriculture bill on grounds that never seemed to trouble him in the case of upscale development.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: Clout City, News, Politics, Race, Bruce Rauner, Sonya Harper, Rahm Emanuel, Amazon, TIFs, tax increment financing, Englewood, Tom Ricketts, Maze Jackson, National Black Chamber of Commerce, HB 40, J.B. Pritzker

Blogs, Bleader Jul 27, 2018
Lake Shore Drive marchers: Here's the real lowdown on the city's budget

According to Cook County clerk David Orr, in the last year alone $660 million in property taxes went into tax increment financing (TIF) districts.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: News, Politics, Race, Tio Hardiman, Rahm Emanuel, Tax Increment Financing, TIFs, David Orr, Raise Your Hand Coalition, DePaul basketball arena, Marriott Hotel, Navy Pier, North Lawndale, Father Pfleger

Blogs, Bleader Jul 23, 2018
We need a citywide hearing for the Lincoln Yards project

Sterling Bay has big plans for the 70 acres they're developing along the Chicago.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: Neighborhoods, News, Politics, Lincoln Yards, Sterling Bay, Rahm Emanuel, TIFs, tax increment financing, Chicago Tribune, police training facility, the Hideout, Tom Ricketts, Live Nation, Englewood, Cortland/Chicago River TIF district

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Mar 1, 2018
Trump cuts food stamps while looking for a handout for his hotel in Mississippi

And other recent acts in the season of hypocrisy
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Donald Trump, Bruce Rauner, Rahm Emanuel, Chuck Grassley, Mississippi, Amazon, food stamps, TIFs, tax increment financing, mental health clinics, Dinesh Chawla, Suresh Chawla

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Jan 23, 2018
Five unfortunate civic traits that make Chicago Bezos bait

Gullibility, docility, and more characteristics that should help convince Jeff Bezos to bring Amazon’s second headquarters to town.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, Amazon, Presence Health, tax increment financing, TIFs, Mayor Emanuel, Rahm Emanuel, Jeff Bezos, race card,, Mayor Daley, the Olympics

Columns & Opinion, On Politics Jan 18, 2018
If Mayor Rahm really wanted to stop poor people from leaving Chicago, he’d stop giving TIF handouts to corporations

Instead another TIF deal benefits a downtown building instead of neighborhoods in need.
- By Ben Joravsky
- Tags: On Politics, finance committee, education committee, Presence Health, pro-choice, pro-life, Ziegler financial services, 200 S. Wacker, HB-40, CPS, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago City Council, Chris Kennedy, Election 2018, Democratic primary, gubernatorial primaries, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, TIFs, tax increment financing, economic development, Mayor Richard J. Daley, Mayor Richard M. Daley, Governor Bruce Rauner, City Hall

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