Category Archives: Democracy

Standing Room Only @ 11th Ward TIF Illumination

The TIF Illumination Project did our 26th public meeting on December 4, 2014 when we lit up the TIFs of the 11th ward at the First Trinity Lutheran Church on 31st Street. I’m constantly amazed and thrilled by the turn out and civic energy present at these meetings. This one was partially sponsored by Friends of Maureen Sullivan, who is running for 11th ward alderman.

You can preview the presentation here. You can download the full presentation at the TIF Data Store. Please help us produce a series of TIF training videos that will be placed online for free viewing – contribute to our first crowdfunding campaign!

If you would like more information on TIF training, research and scheduling an Illumination for YOUR ward, please email tom@civiclab.us.

TIF Illumination Project Launches Crowdfunding Campaign!

The TIF Illumination Project is seeking to raise $15,000 to produce a series of five 20-minute TIF training videos that we will place online for folks to view at no charge. Please check us out and help us produce these videos.

We Need More Public!

The American Society of Civil Engineers says we need to invest more in our public infrastructure. We need more public!

All TIF Presentations Now Available!

Download all the presentations from the ward Illuminations made from the TIF Illumination Project. Only $2.50 each.

Interview Reveals (mostly) All

Jim Jacoby of the American Design and Master-Craft Initiative and Jim Cohen of BeSparked interviewed me in July for this series of master designer podcasts. What, you may ask, do I have to do with design? Ah ha! You’ll just have to listen to this wide-ranging 47 minute interview where I talk about my background in the arts and the connections between design, space and civic engagement. If you do listen – please comment at the bottom of the podcast web page.

Chicago Reader Cites Work of TIF Project

Thanks to tireless TIF reporter Ben Joravsky of The Chicago Reader for this wonderful piece. He connects the dots from the supposed state of Chicago’s finances to the plight of our public schools and the tens of millions, nay, hundreds of millions of property tax dollars, we shower on major corporations.

None of this work would’ve been possible without the hundreds of hours contributed by our all volunteer team of coders, map makers, graphic designers, researchers and community organizers who – collectively – have now Illuminated 127 TIFs across 29 wards. The full record of these forums are here. If you want YOUR ward Illuminated, contact us at tom@civiclab.us.

When we Illuminate a ward we tell you: (1) overview of how TIFs work in Chicago, (2) how many TIFs in the ward, (3) best estimate of how much $ those TIFs took from your ward, (4) how much money left in TIF accounts FROM your ward, (5) who got paid from TIFs in your ward. We even provide a nifty graphic map that lays all this out in a super clear manner. No one else can tell you all this!

Wealth Inequality In The USA

Six minutes and you will know ALL about the 1%!

TIF Illumination Project Finds $1.71 Billion In TIF Funds

The TIF Illumination Project has reviewed all 151 annual reports of the city’s Tax Increment Financing districts. At the end of 2013 the city’s TIF accounts held $1.71 BILLION in property tax dollars! This is a modest increase from 2012. A full report on our 2013 research is here.

The TIF Illumination Project is completely volunteer driven but we can really use your contribution so that we can publish all our work in multiple formats. Donate via PayPal here.

Edward Snowden (and CivicLab) at PDF 2014

It was thrilling to hear Edward Snowden speak live at the Personal Democracy Conference on Thursday. Watch a video of his remarks and follow-up interview (39 minutes) @ http://tinyurl.com/Snowden-at-PDF. CivicLab also presented at the conference!