I feel compelled to reply to the Tribune’s continued misrepresentation of my views on neighborhood economic development.
I have lived the American dream. My immigrant family arrived in Pilsen in 1965 with little more than the clothes on our backs. We worked hard, saved our money and realized my parents’ dream of owning a home. Such dreams and accomplishments is what the Pilsen community is all about. Leadership is not just about organizing a community; it is about responsiveness to the needs and concerns of neighborhood residents.
On Feb. 9, hundreds of concerned citizens converged on City Hall to protest the proposed Tax Increment Financing development in Pilsen. Contrary to the Tribune’s report, Teresa Fraga of the Pilsen Neighbors Community council and I did not lead them; they led us. They went not out of fear, but rather out of concern. My neighbors, like my family before them, want to be part of development, but not a development that socks them with higher property taxes while developers benefit.
As a former alderman and now state senator, I have worked closely with residents and the business community to help our businesses thrive and bring new jobs and businesses into the area. I have a proven record of working with both residents and business owners. I represent 26th Street in Little Village–the second largest tax-generating business area, second only to the Magnificent Mile–in Chicago.
Your July 14 editorial alluded to the fact that TIFs should not be the be-all and end-all to neighborhood economic development. You cautioned that “the growth of TIF districts suggests we should pause, study and reassess before more TIFs consume the city.” Even while I have shared those same concerns, the Tribune has falsely portrayed me as being against jobs and economic development. Crain’s Chicago Business (Oct. 14, 1996) also warned that “a level of skepticism (of TIFs) is warranted–many TIFs in Illinois have been ill-advised.”
But TIFs also have proven to be an effective tool of economic development. For several years I have supported the redevelopment of an underutilized piece of property at 26th and Kostner in Little Village. I am optimistic that this will occur soon. I believe this is a good TIF because there is a specific plan.
During the last legislative session, I joined Democrats and Republicans in sponsoring legislation to reform the current TIF statutes. Our legislation called for public accountability–public hearings, economic impact studies and compensation for displacement.
Large-scale urban development projects require the involvement of all who might be affected by them. In a March 16, 1997, editorial regarding community participation in urban planning matters, your editors wrote, “Now that UIC seems ready to launch a major and essential expansion of its Near West Side campus, it needs to practice what it teaches. It needs to listen to its neighbors and, in turn, make itself heard beyond the campus borders.”
Participatory development is what Pilsen residents and I are asking for. Not control, as you insist, but involvement.
