Look at options other than a TIF

In the Feb. 23 Daily Herald is yet another article on a real estate developer requesting financial aid in the form of a TIF district. John Benson is quoted as expecting to share the cost of a water tower and extending the water main for an industrial park in Antioch. He states, "Once that went away, we've found ourselves with a gap in the financing".

Well, Mr. Benson, there are thousands of people in this country that would love to own a home of their own, or maybe a more suitable home for their families, or maybe even the opportunity to retire. Unfortunately for them, they too have "a gap in the financing." If they can't qualify for a mortgage, or whatever other type of loan they need, they are out of luck. If your company can't get financing from a financial institution, you are out of luck.

I do not intend this letter to be aimed specifically at this one project, but instead at all developers. If you can't afford to build it, don't.

I would love to retire in Hawaii, but I can't afford to. Therefore, I live in the cold, snowy Midwest and work to make enough money to live comfortably.

I suggest the developers should learn to do the same, and not continually expect taxpayers to finance developments that will reap profits for the real estate developer. Home foreclosures are at an all-time high, manufacturers are moving jobs overseas, and developers want financial assistance. With skyrocketing energy costs and folks losing their jobs to foreign markets, they already can't pay for their houses. Why should developers add to this burden?

It makes no sense to me that any town or county should approve such aid. There are plenty of empty buildings now. I suggest that those be filled before more land is plowed under to create profits for a developer at the expense of taxpayers.

Tom Calanca

Lindenhurst