Why can't Loyola just take out a loan?
By Ben Joravsky
The Works, CHICAGO READER | JANUARY 27, 2006
The deal’s all but sealed: tax revenues meant for the public good will fund a face-lift for tax-exempt Loyola.
Excerpt:
As with all TIFs, Devon-Sheridan couldn’t have been created without a consultant’s report explaining why it was needed, what it was intended to pay for, and how it would benefit the community. According to the report, published in October 2003 by real estate and development advisers S.B. Friedman & Company, the Devon-Sheridan TIF would enable Rogers Park to fix up deteriorating buildings, replace inadequate utility lines, and spur growth in its tax base.
Trouble is, the TIF’s first big project won’t accomplish any of these goals. Instead, the city plans to give Loyola up to $46 million so the university can renovate four buildings on its lakefront campus: Mundelein Center, Coffey Hall, Piper Hall, and Flanner Hall. None of these four buildings was listed in the report’s survey of deteriorated properties within the TIF district.
In fact, the report didn’t rate any of the buildings on the Loyola campus deteriorated, nor did it specify that TIF money should be used to renovate any of the university’s holdings. All four targeted buildings are tax exempt. And what’s more the TIF is earmarked to give Loyola about $2.125 million for the Root Photographers building, at 1131 W. Sheridan, which the school is converting into another tax-exempt university facility.
In other words, the city wants to spend property tax dollars to turn tax-creating property into tax-exempt property.
“They’re taking money from the schools, the parks, the police, the fire department, and everything else that we need and spending it to deprive us of public dollars,” Elkuss says. “It’s crazy.”
7 comments:
Not content with enriching his developer buddies, JM now actually reaches inside the taxpayer's pocket and grabs a wad.
But we'll have no stinkin' Walmarts here!
Actually, if we really want to pick on the big box stores (and they are all included in forthcoming statement), we can nail them for their inexcusable abuse of eminent domain which is, effectively, the biggest taxpayer rip off you can think of. You want to get rid of big box stores or prevent them? Change the eminent domain laws.
My beef with JM is that he while he/the city did not actually invoke eminent domain for Gateway, they might as well have, the pressure to sell was so great all except Pivot Point man felt obligated to sell. Pivot Point man was going to move his school anyway so he didn't care and was happy to put up the fight. So eminent domain was effectively used to move out businesses to give us a suburban shopping mall that has few businesses (read: few jobs) and fewer shoppers (read: no sales tax revenue). I'm no fan of any subsidy for anyone except the truly needy but if we're going to give subsidies could we give them to businesses that actually provide jobs and collect signficant sales taxes rather than to developer friends and DevCorp employees?
Public Funds, Private Windfall
The deal’s all but sealed: tax revenues meant for the public good will fund a face-lift for tax-exempt Loyola.
Why can't Loyola just take out a loan?
By Ben Joravsky, The Works, CHICAGO READER JANUARY 27, 2006
Not exactly sure how Loyola has been a good neighbor...by not paying taxes and giving RP a huge population of transient students, who if they vote, most likely vote "at home".
Not that I have anything against students...
I guess one thing we can do is get JM to explain this to us the next time he has to convince us to let him keep his job. Candidates, are you listening?
Appreciate the point about JM being subordinated to Richie BUT a more savvy alderman who appreciates the reins of power would work to get some tit for the tat that must be given. Say refurbished el stations. Loyola, Morse, Jarvis, and Howard all look like crap and should have been tidied up ages ago. I'm not happy about any taxpayer grabs but JM could work it to get more for RP instead of acting like an annoying fly with foie gras and blue bag silliness.
Loyola gets $5 million from law school graduate
February 1, 2006
CHICAGO -- A graduate of Loyola University Chicago has donated $5 million to help expand the law school's Institute for Health Law.
The gift from Bernard J. Beazley, a 1950 graduate of Loyola's School of Law, will be used to establish an endowed faculty chair, fund student fellowships and expand programs.
The institute, which will be renamed the Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy, educates lawyers, hospital administrators and others in health care about health law and policy issues.
"This remarkable gift...will enable us to move to another level," David Yellen, dean of the Law School, said in a statement.
Beazley is the former general counsel and senior vice president of Dentsply International.
Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune
R.I.P., R.P. businesses
By: Phoenix Discourse
Issue date: 2/1/06
My one required "quantitative learning" course at LUC has taught me that one small business out of three total is (roughly) 33 percent small business. My professors have also taught me that 33 percent is an "F." With the newly-implemented TIF, I can only expect that Loyola's failing grade, with respect to small businesses, will continue. ...
Loyola's expressed commitment to "small businesses" is a farce. And frankly I've got a hard time understanding why school administrators continue to tout the Lake Shore campus's historic Rogers Park location when the school seems so intent on changing it - and not necessarily for the better.
Judging by Loyola's current understanding of "small business," I can only expect that the type of businesses the school brings in to its planned Loyola Station (and whatever other property it gobbles up) will not reflect the diverse and unique feel of this North Side neighborhood.
Whitney Woodward is the editor-in-chief.
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