Schaumburg hopes TIF district will revitalize area near I-90

Schaumburg trustees created a new tax increment finance district Tuesday which they hope will spark redevelopment of the area around their new convention center and the possible future site of a commuter rail station on the Northwest Tollway.

One of the earliest uses they foresee for the TIF district over its 23-year life span is to fund half the cost of a proposed tollway exit ramp at Meacham Road to provide easier access to the area's businesses.

Village Manager Ken Fritz said Schaumburg hopes to get such a ramp into the Illinois Toll Highway Authority's plans for 2012, an easier task if the village can pay half of its estimated $60 million cost.

Village trustees have already approved a transit-oriented development model for the area, which favors high-density condominiums and service businesses similar to the areas near the Metra stations in downtown Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect.

The new TIF district lies north of the tollway, south of Algonquin Road, east of Meacham Road and west of Rolling Meadows.

The purpose of a TIF district is to fund the public improvements that occur in conjunction with the private redevelopment of an area.

A TIF district freezes general property taxes at the level of the district's first year. From that time on, as property values theoretically increase, any amount collected above that level goes directly to public improvements rather than to the normal taxing bodies like schools, parks and libraries.

The TIF district expires after 23 years or when all public improvements have been paid off, whichever comes first.

A village collecting TIF money is normally just as affected as other taxing bodies. But as Schaumburg has no village property tax, it will pay the TIF fund 10 percent of the annual amount collected from all the other taxing bodies combined.

A joint review board consisting of all the affected taxing bodies was created for the purposes of answering questions and addressing any grievances. But no objections to the TIF district were made by the other local governments.

The lone objection Tuesday came from resident Brian Costin, who believes TIF districts contradict the village's claim to have no property tax.

District: No local taxing bodies objected to move