MORGAN PARK — The 119th/I-57 tax increment financing district nearly quadrupled in size last week.
The special taxing district was previously 315 acres, according to the city's website.
The district — created Nov. 6, 2002 — originally stretched along Interstate 57 on the Far Southwest Side and included the shopping districts on 107th, 111th and 119th streets.
The new boundaries approved on Wednesday encompass 1,213 acres in total. The new district includes the vacated Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis railroad right of way, according to a news release issued shortly after the approval.
Peter Strazzabosco, deputy commissioner of the department of planning and development, said the move was made without any specific development project in mind.
Tax Increment Financing or TIF districts have come under some scrutiny in recent years. By law, the area is supposed to be "blighted." Indeed, city documents show 128 units of vacant or abandoned housing within the new boundaries for the 119th/I-57 TIF.
The county then sets a "base value" by totaling the property values within the district. The amount of property tax money that public agencies like schools and parks can take from the TIF is calculated using that base value for 23 years.
Any additional property tax money generated from an increase in property values within the TIF district is instead sent to the TIF fund overseen by the city.
It's all meant to spur economic development, but critics have blasted TIFs as a shadowy slush fund used for pet projects or handed out to private companies rather than for major improvements.
In the 34th Ward, the Marshfield Plaza shopping complex opened on June 10, 2010. Then Mayor Richard Daley credited $26.6 million in funds from the 119th/I-57 TIF for sparking the project as well as bringing jobs and needed retail to the area.
"This plaza represents one of the best and most important uses of TIF funds today," Daley said at the unveiling of the shopping center that's anchored by Target, Jewel-Osco and Marshalls.
For her part, Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) argued in support of expanding the TIF district in a letter sent to the department of planning and development on March 3.
"Since the TIF was designated in 2002 there have been several developments in the area; however the Morgan Park and West Pullman communities need additional development to keep moving forward," Austin wrote.
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