Politics
Share of Chicago Property Tax Revenues Claimed by TIF Funds Grew 2.1% in 2025: Report
(WTTW News)
The share of property taxes collected by Cook County and then claimed by Chicago’s tax increment finance districts increased by just 2.1% in 2025, the smallest increase in five years, according to a report by Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon.
In all, $1.62 billion poured into the city’s 108 TIF funds in 2025, according to the annual report from the clerk’s office posted online Tuesday.
By comparison, the amount of property tax revenue that flowed into the city’s TIF districts soared by 16.6% in 2024, records show.
That accounts for approximately 45% of the nearly $3.6 billion in property tax revenue banked by Chicago officials, according to data compiled by the clerk’s office.
Since 2020, $8.1 billion from property taxes has been claimed by TIF districts, according to a WTTW News analysis. The amount collected in 2025 was an increase of more than 54% compared to 2020, according to the analysis.
TIF districts capture all growth in the property tax base in a designated area for 23 years in an effort to spur redevelopment and eradicate blight.
Ten TIF districts each collected more than $35 million in 2025 for a total of more than $1 billion, according to the report. Two of those districts were created to rebuild the CTA’s Red and Purple train line on the city’s North Side and to extend the train line south to the city’s border at 130th Street.
Mayor Brandon Johnson asked the City Council to declare approximately $520 million in TIF funds to be “surplus.”
With the City Council’s approval, approximately $286 million will flow to Chicago Public Schools, with the rest going back to the city other taxing agencies, according to the forecast.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
