TIF is tax increment financing. In Illinois it is weaponized tax-taking for purposes of crony-capitalism.
The sum of the profits to TIF recipients (friends of the regime) are often exceeded by the economic losses to taxpayers.
This presents an opportunity for taxpayers: in most instances it would cost taxpayers less to 'lobby' those empowered to TIF --hire the municipal ruler's whatever-firm as a consultant, make campaign contributions or buy several thousand cups of lemonade at his daughter's $8.50/cup roadside stand---than the costs to taxpayers of having the TIF inserted roughly up the societal rectum already pulverized by property tax rates in excess of 3% of home values.
Another intriguing possibility: TIF-for-all Villages in Illinois.
Much of Illinois is unincorporated.
Unincorporated Illinois property is forced into taxation without representation by TIFs formed in municipalities straddling school district boundaries. Municipal rulers install a TIF for their personal benefit, but all the schmucks paying property taxes to that school district eat the costs, even though the properties outside municipal boundaries had no voting rights on municipal rulers orchestrating TIF.
What about forming Villages (the Village of TIF 1, the Village of TIF 2, etcetera) in every unincorporated area of Illinois. Each will create a Village-wide TIF district, with every single property included, and simply rebate each property their TIF property tax payment every year for the lifetime of the TIF?
This scenario shifts development risk off of taxpayers at large back onto individual developers, where it belongs, given that the developers get all the rewards.
It also nullifies the ability of bad actors in local government to reward cronies at the expense and risk of non-cronies.
It also spreads the property tax rate burden back more equally upon high density municipal regions which have heretofore had the luxury of being subsidized by rural dis-enfranchised homeowners.
And there are other consequences, which might be force enough to finally cause Illinois TIF reform...