The TIF Illumination Project has reviewed all 151 annual reports of the city’s Tax Increment Financing districts. At the end of 2013 the city’s TIF accounts held $1.71 BILLION in property tax dollars! This is a modest increase from 2012. A full report on our 2013 research is here.
The TIF Illumination Project is completely volunteer driven but we can really use your contribution so that we can publish all our work in multiple formats. Donate via PayPal here.
Check out the amazing Warm Cookies of the Revolution in Denver. They started about the same time we did.
Can the Revolution be fun? from Warm Cookies of the Revolution on Vimeo.
The CivicLab was profiled in the June 27th edition of Progress Illinois.
“July marks one year since the CivicLab, a non-profit organization, opened its “democracy design studio” in the West Loop of Chicago.
Looking ahead, one of the CivicLab’s co-founders says big plans are in the pipeline for year two of the co-working space, which is dedicated to collaboration, education and innovation for social change and civic engagement.
Seven organizations focused on issues such as housing justice, voter registration and health care are currently working out of the CivicLab’s storefront, located at 114 N. Aberdeen St.
Other activists, designers, educators and tech experts also gather and do research at the space, which is housed in a rehabbed 1890s firehouse that sits across the street from Harpo Studios, where “The Oprah Winfrey Show” was previously filmed.
In addition to offering a place where people can collaborate, the CivicLab hosts educational workshops and is behind the volunteer-based TIF Illumination Project, which is working to promote transparency around Chicago’s controversial tax increment financing (TIF) program.” [read the full article]
It was thrilling to hear Edward Snowden speak live at the Personal Democracy Conference on Thursday. Watch a video of his remarks and follow-up interview (39 minutes) @ http://tinyurl.com/Snowden-at-PDF. CivicLab was also at the conference!
CivicLab co-founders Benjamin Sugar and Tom Tresser will be at PDF 2014 in New York Thursday and Friday. We’ll be part of a panel presentation on Friday, “City Labs For Civic Engagement” with folks from Hack Baltimore and BetaNYC. If you’re in NYC, contact us @ info@civiclab.us or @civiclabchicago!
What is the Commons and why should you care? Tom Tresser, who calls himself a Public Defender, will break it all down at this interactive workshop on May 27 at 7pm at the CivicLab. Only $10 (we are 100% volunteer run and all the revenue from this workshop goes to support the operation of the CivicLab, Chicago’s only co-working space dedicated to social justice and civic engagement). Register here.
Come by and visit @ 114 N. Aberdeen Street. Take a workshop. Teach a workshop. Co-work here. Intern here
.
Join Tom Tresser and Benjamin Sugar in New York on June 5-6 when we’ll be at the Personal Democracy Forum.
http://issuu.com/cmrenner/docs/cnu-conference-final-20140325 – Free download of presentations and material from 2013 conference on new ways of doing urban development. We did a piece on the TIF Illumination Project. Also great stuff on how Rockford is using creativity and the arts for economic development and Naomi Davis presenting on her vision for grassroots community development.
Can you help The CivicLab advance through the Knight News Challenge? We’re seeking support to evolve our Civic Illumination work. Please visit the site and comment. Thanks!
