Tomorrow from 1-2 p.m. the council chambers at City Hall will be hosting a public hearing on the renewal of the Dunning Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, which is due to expire at the end of this year. A renewal would keep the district intact until 2027 and could generate up to $60 million, with $47 million set aside for a new high school near Oak Park Avenue and Irving Park Road, DNAinfo reports. Dunning is currently home to one high school, Taft High School, the most crowded public high school in Chicago, hosting 3,233 students in a building meant for 2,184.
Plans for a new high school have been in place for years. The extension of the TIF district would provide the windfall necessary to lighten Taft's load, and possibly inspire additional growth in the area, which most recently includes a state-run, $70.5 million veteran's home at 4250 N. Oak Park Ave. The Chicago Plan Commission will rule on the TIF extension on May 21 and then present its decision to the Chicago City Council this summer.
·Relief for Overcrowded Taft? Hearing Set for Proposal to Extend Dunning TIF [DNAinfo]
·Dunning TIF Should be Extended to Fund New High School, Alderman Says [DNAinfo]
·List of current TIF projects in district [Chicago Cityscape]
·Previous TIF coverage [Curbed Chicago]