When Crystal Lake mayoral challenger Lori Phelps sent out her first press release, my reaction was that it focused too much on getting a hospital for Crystal Lake. Being an anti-tax guy, I would have put more emphasis on how … Continue reading
When Crystal Lake mayoral challenger Lori Phelps sent out her first press release, my reaction was that it focused too much on getting a hospital for Crystal Lake. Being an anti-tax guy, I would have put more emphasis on how … Continue reading
At the Monday night Arlington Heights village board meeting, 77 demonstrators held a candle light vigil outside the Senior Citizen Center where the meeting was being held. I wrote a background story last week that might be of interest. They … Continue reading
With Springfield Republican powerhouse Bill Cellini making at least part of the pitch for the developers who won the right to make money in Vulcan Lakes TIF district, I was as interested in his comments about the Wal-Mart, old Cub … Continue reading
It’s nothing new that municipalities are driving out successful businesses that do not maximize sales tax revenue for the local town. I first ran across this phenomenon in Marengo when the son of a man whose father had just built … Continue reading
It’s nothing new that municipalities are driving out successful businesses that do not maximize sales tax revenue for the local town. I first ran across this phenomenon in Marengo when the son of a man whose father had just built … Continue reading
In a meeting of Crystal Lake governmental bodies about the Vulcan Lakes/Route 14 Tax Increment Financing district, which the city council will vote upon next Tuesday at 7:30, its consultant revealed that $115 million is expected to be generated. And, … Continue reading
As predicted below on November 6th, the Northwest Herald is trying to come to the rescue of Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley and the city council. The Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing district certainly must be important to someone(s) important. Maybe a … Continue reading
While TIFs (Tax Increment Financing districts) are sold as economic development tools, they can also be viewed as a means of shifting money and the power to spend it. The winners in a TIF district are the local municipal officials … Continue reading
Content of the leaflet being distributed by Jim Young: Citizens Against TIFS, Jim Young, Chairman Mayor Shepley/Council Plan TIF Tax Hike The Crystal Lake City Council is planning to divert money from our school, park & college districts to benefit … Continue reading
Crystal Lake’s Jim Thompson, Chairman of Citizens Against TIFs, leafleted much of the Coventry subdivision today. The man is indefatigable. Under his supervision, thousands of leaflets explaining how the Crystal Lake City Council’s passage of two Tax Increment Financing districts … Continue reading
As I entered city hall shortly before 7:30 PM, the nearby train crossing gates were down. The bell was ringing. The Metra train was on the track. It had just left the station. At 8:53, three motions were made within … Continue reading
With both Crystal Lake school districts and the park district opposing the Vulcan Lakes/Route 14 TIF, the Crystal Lake City Council approved a pre-meeting agreement to postpone the vote until December 6th. With the seven council members were unanimous in … Continue reading
Two Northwest Herald columnists have taken recent pot shots at the controversial proposed Crystal Lake TIF districts. On Oct. 30th, Brian Slupski offered a pre-Halloween satirical list of things to make local folks wary. On it is “The TIF from … Continue reading
In Friday’s Northwest Herald is an article about the $23 million that the City of Crystal Lake is scheduled to haul in over a twenty-year period as a result of a proposed Waste Management garbage transfer station to be located … Continue reading
Speaking of the old Crystal Lake Dump, as I do in the post below, I once had a phone conversation with Dick Tracy cartoonist Chester Gould about Gravel Gertie. It was when I was state representative in the late 1970’s. … Continue reading
When the Crystal Lake High and Grade School districts voted to reject the Vulcan Lakes/Route 14 Tax Increment Financing District proposed by the Crystal Lake City Council, they decided to file a report explaining why. Attacked in the city council’s … Continue reading
In the “better late than never” category is the Crystal Lake Park Board’s resolution last night to oppose the city council’s two Tax Increment Financing Districts. Had the board known the rules of the TIF “game,” it is likely it … Continue reading
In Friday’s Northwest Herald is an article about the $23 million that the City of Crystal Lake is scheduled to haul in over a twenty-year period as a result of a proposed Waste Management garbage transfer station to be located … Continue reading
Introducing himself as the chairman of Citizens Against TIFs, local activist Jim Young stated that he believed the General Assembly made a very serious mistake when it passed the Tax Increment Financing law. “It violates the principles of equity,” the … Continue reading
