Critics argue TIFs divert revenue that would otherwise go to public schools and essential community services to the private sector. In 2019, for example, Chicago accrued $926 million from 136 TIF districts. That’s more than 35% of all property taxes collected across that city that year.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.