dh_opinion State Sen. Ann Gillespie moves discussion of taxing tools beyond confines of a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights
This editorial represents the consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board State Sen. Ann Gillespie doesn't expect either of two companion taxpayer-focused bills she introduced last week to pass in their present form, and we're not prepared to say whether they should or shouldn't.
Finding all the financing for the $5 billion Bears proposal is going to require time, vision and delicate negotiations. But, as Gillespie's legislative ante demonstrates, the solution will have ramifications extending to all kinds of developments throughout the suburbs and ranging far into the future.
The group involves two acronyms that can make taxpayers' heads spin and frustrate school, library and park officials. One is PILOT -- for Payments in Lieu of Taxes. The other, slightly more familiar but equally complex, is TIF -- for Tax Increment Finance district. by signing up you agree to our terms of service TIFs were originally intended to help communities attract the interest of developers to blighted or troubled sites they might not otherwise find appealing. A PILOT provides a tax freeze to help a community attract a major development, though with some capacity to mitigate the losses to schools and government units.