On Thursday, December 16, 1998 several members of the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition attended the Chicago Plan Commission public meeting where, among many other matters, they were going to approve or not approve the Roosevelt Union TIF. This is the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District designation that will destroy the old Maxwell Street area.
The meeting was called to start at 1:00PM and the Roosevelt Union (Maxwell Street) TIF was item # 24 on the agenda.
Coalition member Bill Lavicka came in at 1:40PM and asked when he could testify. He was told that the Roosevelt Union TIF was approved at 1:10PM. When he complained, he was told "tough". Wes Wegar, who lives on Maxwell Street called the Dept. of Planning and Development the day before and was told to come at 2:00PM. I got my information from Wes. UIC's PR guy Danny Chun also came at around 2PM and I came at 2:10PM. I asked Chun what time he was told to be here for the Roosevelt Union TIF item on the agenda and he said, "2:00PM." and then left.
I then asked someone from the Chicago Plan Commission what committee in the City Council does this TIF go to next? I was told that he was not sure. If the people running the process give out wrong information and do not know how the process is run, how can ordinary citizens have a chance?
Further, I was told that the Redevelopment Agreement (how UIC will specifically spend the TIF money) has been separated from the TIF designation issue. So City commissions and the City Council vote on a TIF designation before a spending plan has been approved. This seems irresponsible at the least.
I was then told by a Department of Planning official that TIF designation doesn't mean much without a Redevelopment Agreement. But I replied that a TIF designation does matter. It is a necessary condition for taking control of development from the community and democratic processes and giving State powers to private real estate developers. It is like saying, "Guns don't kill people, bullets do."
- Steve Balkin
Below is the presentation I prepared but which I never got to give.
Presentation for the Chicago Plan Commission: against the Roosevelt-Union TIF (12/16/98)
by Professor Steven Balkin, Roosevelt University, Department of Economics, and Secretary of the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition, 312-341-3696
We are in favor of job creation, economic development, affordable housing, historic preservation, and a healthy University of Illinois. With a plan properly formulated, all of these goals are compatible. Unfortunately, the Roosevelt-Union TIF plan fails at this. It is ill conceived and does not adequately consider business owner, resident, and neighborhood user input in the planning process. And until it does, I am asking the Chicago Plan Commission to hold up this TIF. Why the rush to push this through and further violate the Judge Foreman principles of fundamental fairness and due process? I ask that examination be given to the downside of this TIF before you approve of it. We offer free tours of the area to anyone on this Commission and encourage you to visit our website <www.openair.org/maxwell/preserve.html> to learn more about Maxwell Street and the support for its preservation from all over the world.
The Roosevelt-Union TIF destroys jobs.
UPS is a valued employer of Chicagoans, providing over 5000 good jobs. They need their parking lot at Halsted and Liberty to function properly. To allow the destruction of that parking lot will be a cause for UPS to move their operations out of Chicago, taking their 5000 jobs with them. A great city should not do that.
There are over 40 small businesses in the Roosevelt-Union TIF. Each of those businesses has several employees. The world famous Jim's Hot Dog stand has over 15 employees. The TIF Plan requires those businesses to leave the neighborhood and not be allowed to participate in the new UIC Campustown development. Those businesses are doing well, in spite of what UIC has done to the area. Their destruction is needless and shows a wanton disregard for people still residing in the community. A great city should not do that.
The saving of 36 old buildings, worked out as a compromise plan called the Daley-Decker Vinci Plan, is paramount to the future economic health of this neighborhood. The cost to rehab is no greater than new construction and with the addition of the 20% Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit, it is the more frugal option. Rehab work is more labor intensive than new construction, so more jobs will directly be created by preserving the 36 buildings rather than destroying them.
We all know that UIC is using its vast intramural athletic fields for landbanking. Using parts of that land will certainly provide for all of UIC's construction's needs. But even without that land, there is enough space for UIC to build what it wants and have the space to save those 36 historic buildings. I did not determine that but City hired architects, Howard Decker and John Vinci determined that.
The preserving of the 36 historic buildings will allow for the creation, at some future time, of a Maxwell Street Historic District which will bring tourism jobs and tourism businesses to the area, and stimulate the entire Chicago tourism sector of the urban economy. Remember that Chicago's two most important contributions to world culture are its architecture legacy and its Blues heritage. Architecture and blues are what give Chicago its competitive advantage in the tourism arena. Why does New Orleans have the French Quarter, and Memphis have Beale Street, while you let UIC/Mesirow Stein destroy Maxwell Street. A great city should not destroy those buildings. Don't you think that having and honoring the birthplace of urban electrified blues, possibly, the birthplace of rock n roll, on your college campus would be a draw to it from students, alumni, faculty, researchers, and donors?
UIC claims it will be saving 9 buildings. Yet no one has asked the key question, "for how long?" It was always UIC's intention to save five buildings on Halsted Street temporarily, for a period between 5 and 10 years for construction staging purposes, and then destroy them. As far as we know, it is still their intention. A great city should not do that.
Still, nine buildings is not enough buildings to save, especially when not one of them is on Maxwell Street. One can't have a Maxwell Street Historic District, without any buildings being saved on Maxwell Street. A great city should not do that.
There are 60 old buildings in the area. We are not asking that all 60 buildings be saved. Two of Chicago's greatest preservation architects, Howard Decker and John Vinci, as consultants to the City of Chicago, decided that those 36 buildings were worthy to be saved. A great city should save those buildings.
Finally, UIC/Mesirow-Stein has made no attempt at providing rental housing in its development. For the mostly elderly and poor people of the Maxwell Street neighborhood, housing is not affordable unless it is rental housing and inexpensive. Some affordable rental housing should be put in the housing mix there.
In sum, as this Roosevelt-TIF stands, there are serious problems with it, problems that can easily be solved in a manner that everyone gains, especially, the city's job base, tax base, and its cultural assets. Do not approve this TIF.
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