Protesters slam deal that funneled TIF money to Pier
They held up “golden hot dogs” and accused Mayor Rahm Emanuel of “laundering” money, as protesters blasted the deal in which $ 55 million in tax increment financing funds that had been set aside to acquire land for a hotel near McCormick Place was used instead on renovations at Navy Pier.
“That money went to rehab their food courts — golden hot dogs for tourists, while our children don’t have the resources they need,” said community activist Amisha Patel, with Grassroots Collaborative.
Patel and 30 or so other protesters stood in front of Navy Pier, a facility they referred to as a “gleaming tourist trap.”
TIF money is typically intended for blighted areas.
“Does Navy Pier look blighted to you?” Patel asked rhetorically.
Last week, the Better Government Association and Crain’s Chicago Business revealed the dollar fordollar shift of the TIF money from McCormick Place to the pier.
“This dirty deal went down in 2013 — the same year the mayor closed 50 schools, supposedly because there wasn’t sufficient money. We now know where some of that money went,” Patel said.
The protesters demanded that the city return the $ 55 million directly to Chicago Public Schools.
Officials with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority said Monday that no TIF funds were diverted to the Pier and that the news story last week “fundamentally misunderstood” how TIF transactions work. The $ 55 million paid by the city to the pier was actually a reimbursement, they said.
The Authority, generally referred to as McPier, said the transaction was related to a group of projects announced in 2013 that also included Wintrust Arena, the Marriott Marquis Chicago and the first phase of Navy Pier renovations. McPier advanced funds for the hotel project, and the city’s reimbursement was necessary before the pier renovations could proceed.