TIF Districts

Illinois law allows units of local governments to designate areas within their jurisdiction as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. These districts dedicate sales tax revenues and additional property tax revenues generated within the TIF for improvements within the district to encourage new economic development and job creation.  Funds may be used for costs associated with the development or redevelopment of property within the TIF, allowing blighted, declining and underperforming areas to again become viable, and allowing these areas to compete with vacant land at the edge of urban areas.

Projects in TIF districts typically include:

• Redevelopment of substandard, obsolete, or vacant buildings
• Financing public infrastructure improvements, including streets, sewer, water, in declining areas
• Cleaning up polluted areas
• Improving the viability of downtown business districts; rehabilitating historic properties
• Providing infrastructure needed to develop a site for new industrial or commercial use

The city has leveraged TIF since the late 1980s to help grow the commercial corridors. Recently, the city adopted TIF in some of its oldest neighborhoods to encourage redevelopment of existing homes. Contact the city’s TIF Administrator, Cody Moake, to learn more.