Crystal Lake Pays $1.8 Million To Settle Condemnation Suit Against 15 Vulcan TIF Acres

Despite promising not use its condemnation powers to obtain land from the Vulcan Lake/Route 14 Tax Increment Financing district, the Crystal Lake City Council voted Tuesday night to pay Vulcan Materials $120,000 an acre to settle such a suit. $1.8 … Continue reading

Crystal Lake Pays $1.8 Million To Settle Condemnation Suit Against 15 Vulcan TIF Acres

Despite promising not use its condemnation powers to obtain land from the Vulcan Lake/Route 14 Tax Increment Financing district, the Crystal Lake City Council voted Tuesday night to pay Vulcan Materials $120,000 an acre to settle such a suit. $1.8 … Continue reading

Condemnation in the Vulcan Lakes TIF District

The Northwest Herald is running an article about the Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing district. Although Mayor Aaron Shepley promised there would be no condemnation of property in the Vulcan Lakes TIF district, there was. And eminent domain court action … Continue reading

Condemnation in the Vulcan Lakes TIF District

The Northwest Herald is running an article about the Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing district. Although Mayor Aaron Shepley promised there would be no condemnation of property in the Vulcan Lakes TIF district, there was. And eminent domain court action … Continue reading

Vulcan Lakes TIF Expected to Generate $115 Million, Lots Out of Taxpayers’ Pockets

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

Another Way To Finance Development of Crystal Lake’s Vulcan Lakes

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

For You Dick Tracy Fans – The Gravel Gertie State Park Idea

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

Crystal Lake Park Board Asks for Referendum on Two Tax Increment Financing Projects

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

Citizens Have Their Say On Crystal Lake TIF Disricts

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

District 47 Estimates $9 Million Tax Shift If All Three Crystal Lake TIFs Approved

Over one hour and twenty minutes after the Crystal Lake City Council meeting began, Grade School District 47 Superintendent Ron Miller was the first one to get a chance to offer the first public comments in the Vulcan Lakes/Route 14 … Continue reading