TIF for Luxury Hi-Rise, CHA Broken Promises are Focus of Council Meeting Protest

TIF for Luxury Hi-Rise, CHA Broken Promises are Focus of Council MeetingProtest

Waste of tax moneys on subsidies for wealthier Chicagoans while affordable housing needs of city’s 125,000 homeless cited

CHICAGO - The expected introduction of an ordinance into the City Council authorizing $16 million in taxpayer TIF funds to subsidize luxury hi-rise towers on prime lake front property in Uptown will spur an 11 AM protest Wednesday [May 18, 2016] from community members citing a long list affordable housing grievances. The rally will take place atCity Hall, 121 N. LaSalle Street, 2nd floor by the elevators.

Besides this latest TIF gift to more well-to-do residents, protest organizers cite a series of broken promises from the Chicago Housing Authority that have diminished the city’s affordable housing stock, including:

**Its refusal to rehab its current stock of affordable housing, such as at the Lathrop Homes;
** Its refusal to abide by its promise of replacing each unit of affordable housing it closes down, such as at the Robert TaylorHomes on the south side, ABLA on the west side, and Cabrini Green on the north side
** Its failure to keep up with the literally hundreds of thousands of people languishing on their waitlist for years waiting for affordable housing
... all while sitting on $440 MILLION in its bank account.

“Years of subsidies to wealthy developers and de-funding and destruction of public housing mean that most Chicagoans struggle to find decent housing they can afford,” said Vivien Tsou of ONE Northside, one of the protest organizers. “It’s not only the poorest of Chicagoans who are affected – the deliberate run-down and elimination of affordable housing puts market pressure for higher rents fo rall working class people, as more people chase fewer affordable units.”

A thicket of conflicts of interest surround Mayor Emanuel and 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman, the principal backer of the Uptown / Maryville TIF:

**James D. Letchinger, the developer behind the project, has given Rahm Emanuel$5000
** Shawn Ingall, Communications and Marketing Director for JDL, has given Rahm Emanuel $1000
** Mark Zipperer, real estate broker whose real estate agency has advertised apartments for JDL, has given James Cappleman over $7,000

Overall, Ald. Cappleman has received over $200,000 from various real estate banking firms, developers, property managers, landlords and real estate agents in the surrounding area of the site.

The$16M Uptown / Maryville TIF is but one in a long line of public money giveaways to the wealthy, but is particularly galling as the proposed project is justyards away from homeless encampments underneath Lake Shore Drive viaducts.Other notorious giveaways of taxpayer money include:

** $1.2 billion in proposed borrowing by the already financially troubled “McPier” authority to build the proposed Lucas / Star Wars museum;
** $29.5 million for River Point luxury hi-rise on prime downtownChicago River-front property;
** $55 million for the DePaul basketball arena
** $5.2 million in part for Penny Pritzker’s Hyatt hotel chain in Hyde Park
** $15 million for the Chicago Board of Trade

“For too long our tax dollars have been going to wealthy developers to create luxury high-rises and condos,” said Ryne Poelkerof North Side Action for Justice & Uptown Tent City Organizers. “Instead of investing in our community, these projects are pushing low-income, black and brown families out of our communities.”