The TIF Illumination Project

Now playing at Chicago Shakespeare - the funnest night we;ve had in a darken room in years! https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-09-27/david-kwong-enigmatist-geffen-playhouse-review - Get tix @ https://www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/the-enigmatist/

The Enigmatist “Breathtaking as a Houdini escape” (LA Times). Take part in an immersive night of puzzles and illusion from David Kwong.

Article on my petition urging NO PUBLIC DOLLARS for Chicago sports stadiums -> https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_1488e94e-da60-11ee-a135-6fe22f637565.html. Sign the petition at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-public-dollars-for-sports-stadiums.

Are you down for billionaire Chicago sports team owners grabbing billions of public dollars for their stadiums? I'm not and made the case on "Outside the Loop" on WGN with Mike Stephen ->

Tom Tresser on WGN Radio 3-2-24 Tom Tresser was interviewed by Mike Stephen for WGN Radio's "Outside the Loop" program on March 2, 2024. We talked about the looming scam of billionaire sports team owners seeking billions of public d

Are you down for billionaire Chicago sports team owners grabbing billions of public dollars for their stadiums? I'm not and made the case on "Outside the Loop" on WGN with Mike Stephen -> https://soundcloud.com/civiclab/tt-wgn-3-2-24

Here we go again!

No Public Dollars for Sports Stadiums We demand that NO public dollars and no public land be given to any billionaire owner of a sports team - be it the owners of the Chicago White Sox or the Chicago Bears. The news is full of reports of greedy local major league sports teams making aggressive pitches for billions of public dollars for....

As Apple TVs's "Masters of the Air" premieres I am donating photos, a scrap book, a sargeant's jacket, and a leather jacket with white bombs painted on the back fo each mission flown that all belonged to my dad, Allan Tresser from the 379th Bombing Group of the 8th Air Force. He flew 30 missions over occupied Europe and N**i Germany in 1944. He suffered flack wouds to his legs and was awarded the Air Medal with 4 Oak Clusters. We are donating these items to the World Ward 2 Museum in New Orleans. https://tv.apple.com/us/show/masters-of-the-air/umc.cmc.7bxcni0vwgll9kmicq738k5q2 - www.nationalww2museum.org

Dear Facebook Friends - I am pulling way back on my civic work and will no longer be posting here. If you would like to follow my new work and writing, please subscribe to my Substack newsletter at http://tresser.substack.com. Thank you for all your support and interest in my work over the years! Much civic love, Tom Tresser.

This bill is past due...

An official who spent 4 decades at the Fed says $2 trillion in annual reparations is the least we can do to fix systemic racism: ‘I just don’t want to wait for another generation’ (Fortune) Jeff Fuhrer knows that it’s a big number. “Yes, it is huge,” he says when Fortuneasks him about his projection that the federal government should pay out an...

Happy National Public Lands Day!

Did You Forget To Make Plans for National Public Lands Day This Weekend? We’ve Got You Covered (WTTW - Chicago, IL)  We’re coming up on the fourth Saturday in September, and you know what that means. It’s National Public Lands Day. Created back in 1994, the day is meant t...

Got to get a copy...

Michael Harriot's 'Black AF History' could hardly come at a better time (NPR) Over the past few years, it seems that rarely a week has gone by without a news story chronicling the renewed debate about whose history matters and how - o...

They totally deserve ANOTHER massively public subsidy for ANOTHER Chicago stadium!

True or false: The Chicago Bears are the worst team in the NFL after the Week 1 blowout loss? (Chicago Tribune) After months of buildup to the 2023 season, t...

Probably not...

When Trump is revealed as an agent of foreign governments will America finally wake up? (Raw Story) It’s time to tell the truth about Trump: he’s been an agent of organized crime and foreign governments for decades. And he’s continuing his work for Putin, ...

Fox TV license renewal may be in jeopardy as FCC invites public response FCC seeks broader public input on license renewal for WTXF-TV in Philadelphia.

Interview on "Outside The Loop" program on WGN-FM, 8/26/23 - https://soundcloud.com/civiclab/tifs-wgn-8-26-23 (17 min)

Fox’s Founding President Joins Fight to Deny Fox Broadcast License (The Daily Beast) Jamie Kellner, the founding president of Fox Broadcasting Company, added his voice on Tuesday to a bipartisan bid to deny the broadcast license renewal of a...

At the CivicLab we look at neurocivics as part of our work. Leaders can model and spread and normalize behaviors for good as well as evil.

Neuroscientist sounds the alarm on the GOP’s 'contagious sociopaths' (AlterNet) Sociopaths, a term often used to describe those living with antisocial personality disorder, operate within their daily lives without a “conscience,” can be...

No way. The mayor should cancel the racist Lincoln Yards TIF that was rushed thru City Council and was corrupt and uncalled forfrom the start. Sign our petition to abolish TIFs at www.endtifsnow.org.

Sterling Bay courts Johnson as Lincoln Yards needs financial retool (The Real Deal) With Sterling Bay missing deadlines on infrastructure work for its $6 billion Lincoln Yards megadevelopment amid its search for new investment, the firm may ...

This is outrageous. https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/07/17/congress-theater-overhaul-back-on-track-key-committee-approves-27-million-in-tif-funding-for-project- The city TOTAL annual grants to ALL of our arts organizations via CItyArts is on the order of $1 million. AEG Presents has annual revenue of $412 MILLION! When will Chicago STOP showering public dollars on billionaires? If you are angry - sign and share CivicLab petition to ABOLISH TIFs -> www.endtifsnow.org.

Congress Theater Overhaul Back On Track? Key Committee Approves $27 Million In TIF Funding For Project The city's redevelopment agreement with the developer requires the Logan Square theater to operate for at least 10 years — and stipulates that the majority of apartments created on the site be affordable.

The Pilsen TIF Revolt made history! https://southsideweekly.com/pilsens-prolonged-fight-against-tif-amid-gentrification

Check out this thorough article on TIFs and the CivicLab's TIF Illumination Project - https://shelterforce.org/2023/06/01/tax-increment-financing-tif-revitalization-tool-developer-handout-or-both

Get your own copy of the Chicago 2021 TIF Report at http://www.tinyurl.com/Req-Chic-2021-TIF - https://heartlandsignal.com/2023/03/20/chicagos-black-wards-contribute-more-receive-less-funding-from-tax-increment-financing-new-report-finds

The No Games Chicago is now available for downloading - no charge! Go to https://nogameschicagobook.com and fill out a brief form and presto - download the PDF to read on your device. After waiting over 13 years for someone to tell the story, I just decided, the heck with it, it's a GREAT story! We can still learn from Chicago's all out pursuit of the 2016 Summer Olympics that cost $90 million and which enrolled our entire civic eco-system to get the Games. Our media was starry eyed. Nonprofit groups were cowed and submissive. Foundations poured millions into the Bid. Our elected officials - having jsut passed the hated parking meter deal pushed by Mayor Daley - were deaf and dumb. It wasn't THAT long ago and, really, has anyhting changed? Look at the BS plans to promote "economic development" currently being pushed: A casino for Chicago. A dome on Solider Field. NASCAR. Using public $ to convert LaSalle Street office towers into high end residences. Giving CHA land to a billionaire for his sports team. The media has blacked out this work from then to now - so it's up to us to tell the truth and pass it along.

Listen to "Outside the Loop" radio from March 18 for an interview discussing our first-ever all Illinois TIF Illumination! https://soundcloud.com/civiclab/wgn-3-18-23 - Special thanks to our funder, the Muckrock Foundation!

The CivicLab is proud to release the first ever all-Illinois TIF Illumination! Funded by a grant from the MuckRock Foundation, this project reviewed 1,454 TIF districts across 535 municipalities! Get the headlines and the data at https://tifreports.com/illinois-illumination - [email protected]

CivicLab has been awarded a grant to Illuminate ALL of Illinois' TIF Districts! There will be no place to hide after we light up all 1,423 of Illinois' Tax Increment Financing Districts for 2020! Thanks to a grant from the Muckrock Foundation - see http://www.tifreports.com/illinois-illumination

Scan or follow the simple URL to get your copy. No one has the data that we have! [email protected]

Tom Tresser gives the highlights of Chicago's off-the-rails TIF program for 2021. All time HIGH numbers! Listen to the ALTERNATIVE to using TIFs for economic development (26 min). https://soundcloud.com/civiclab/tom-tresser-on-wgn-12-24-22

Download the Chicago 2021 TIF Report here. Just fill out the form! https://form.jotform.com/Tresser/2021-Chicago-TIF-Report

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

The TIF Illumination Project updated their phone number.

Tom Tresser was on WVON Tuesday talking about the city budget, TIFs, and all the WRONG ways to finance Chicago. www.tinyurl.com/WVON-8-16-22