Category Archives: TIF Illumination Project

Special Offer for “Outside the Loop” Listeners!

I was interviewed by the dulcet-toned Mike Stephen for his “Outside the Loop” progam on WGN Radio on Saturday, February 28. We talked about greedy billionaires seeking billions of public dollars for private projects – like the Bears new stadium – and the need for a more expansive and generous civic imagination. It’s the first segment of the show.
** Sign this petition – “No Public Subsidies for Megaprojects! (ESPECIALLY for the Bears Stadium)“ **

I made a special offer to Mike’s listeners – 50% off the already low price of “Chicago Is Not Broke. Funding the City We Deserve” – Get the book with $5 billion of progressive and sustainable revenue solutions for Chicago for just ten bucks (plus tax and shipping)! What a civic deal! This offer is only good with the right promo code (listen and you will learn) and only through March 28. I produced this book in 2016 and in 2024 updated it with a whole new section! Order the book today – get multiple copies and start a civic book club :)!

BRIDGE Publishes Overview of TIF Work

BRIDGE is a high-quality book magazine publised in Chicao by a collective of artists and makers. Their June 2023 issue contained this overview of the TIF Illumination Project (download PDF).

South Side Weekly Covers Pilsen TIF Revolt!

Great Coverage of TIF Work!

Thanks to the great people at Shelterforce for this thorough and thoughtful piece covering TIFs and the organizing and engagement work of the TIF Illumination Project.

CivicLab Awarded Grant to Illuminate ALL Illinois TIFS!

The CivicLab has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Muckrock Foundation to investigate and expose ALL the 1,454 TIFs of Illinois from 2020! Details here.

Get CivicLab 2021 TIF Report!

No one else can tell you ALL the details of Chicago’s 132 active TIF districts for 2021! Just fill out the form…

Get Your Copy of Chicago 2021 TIF Analysis
Please click the link to complete this form.

Our 2020 TIF Analysis Front Page News

*Thanks to the Gazette staff for covering this work!*

Gazette Chicago reporter attended our October 4, 2021 deep dive on the TIFs of Chicago. This is the first time a Chicago-based reporter has attended on reported on one of our public TIF meetings in six years! Read the report here…

“Crumbs from the master’s table…”

Tom was interviewed on WVON on September 20, 2021 covering the state of Chicago’s civic finances in the wake of Mayor Lightfoot’s 2022 Budget Address. In this wide-ranging thirty minute interview we cover a lot of ground for justice and equity in Chicago!

Tom on WGN 9-18-21

Tom was interviewed by “Outside the Loop” host Mike Stephen on September 18, 2021. We went over how TIFs work and reviewed the headlines for Chicago’s 2020 TIF record-breaking TIF activities. Tom explains how the Massachusetts Institute of Technology agrees with the CivicLab that TIFs are racist.

CivicLab Was a Finalist for MIT Solve Global Tech & Social Justice Challenge!

Please clock on link to vote for our solution!

We are proud to announce that the CivicLab’s TIF Illumination Project was a finalist for the MIT Solve Global Challenge “Antiracist Technology in the U.S.”! Seven winners were chosen from the 15 finalists from this challenge. There are four other global challenges and over 1,800 solutions were submitted from 29 countries! The 35 winners across all five challenges shared a $2 million prize pool! Our solution-> http://tinyurl.com/Vote-4-CL-Tech-Challenge Watch the pitch below:

2 min\, 55 sec

Tom Tresser

Public defender. Civic educator.