Once a municipality begins the inexorable process of creating a Tax Increment Finance District (TIF) it becomes hard to dissuade them. They are a wonderful shiny object packed with possibilities in the eyes of elected officials.
And so it is right now in River Forest where hearings will begin on turning the north half of Madison Street (Forest Park is on the south side) from Lathrop to Thatcher into the village’s second-ever TIF.
Honestly, it hardly seems worth the bother. With the non-property-taxpaying Community Center anchoring the westernmost block of the proposed TIF and a recent village OK for a new multifamily project on the seriously blighted old Hines Lumber site, there isn’t much to invest in. There’s a sad sack strip mall and a couple of modern townhouse projects. The Green Earth nursery seems viable. The village says it has no current plans for displacement.
So what’s to develop and how great is the upside? There is more potential for the contemplated TIF along North Avenue, in our opinion.