Both reports highlight the dramatic increase in the use of tax increment financing Statewide, along with the cost of that growth to local taxpayers. Just in Cook County over the past 30 years, TIF district property tax collections have increased by 1034 percent from $160 million to over $1.8 billion in 2024.
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.