Schaumburg should take hint from EGV

Kudos to Mayor Johnson and the Village Board of Elk Grove Village for deciding to rebate $300,000 yearly in excess revenue from the Grove Mall TIF district to local School Districts and shut it down three years ahead of schedule. ("Elk Grove Village rebates excess tax money to school districts, township," Oct. 20)

Contrast this to the Old Schaumburg Center TIF district in downtown Schaumburg. The original plan in 1989 called for $7.27 million in improvements.

This has been revised five times and inflated to a gigantic $49.5 million total cost to the taxpayers.

Schaumburg is now in the final stages of approving $6.56 million in property taxpayer subsidies including a $3 million land donation, $3 million infrastructure subsidy, and a $560,000 "donation" to private developer Warren McElwain for the Pleasant Square housing development.

Why should the Village of Schaumburg redistribute the wealth of its lower and middle-class property taxpayers to subsidize any private entity, let alone the upper-class that can afford the glitzy new rowhomes starting at $359,000, townhouses at $459,000, and single-family homes starting at $679,000 and topping out at $799,000?

Schaumburg taxpayers will also be shelling out for a private, members-only fitness center, swimming pool and clubhouse.

The cruelest joke of all is that the money is being diverted from School Districts 54 and 211, the library, park district and other taxing bodies - without any disclosure on our property tax bills.

Schaumburg should take a hint from Mayor Johnson of Elk Grove Village and shut down the wasteful spending in the Old Schaumburg Center TIF district.

At the very least Schaumburg, and all taxing bodies, should give its citizens referendum power to approve or reject TIF districts and full transparency on our tax bills.

Brian Costin

Schaumburg