Mayor Daley today denounced as a "political stunt" Assessor Jim Houlihan's plan to siphon money away from Chicago's tax-increment-financing (TIF) districts to help struggling homeowners pay soaring property tax bills.
Under the Cook County assessor's so-called "circuit breaker" plan, local government agencies would establish an emergency fund that would grant up to $700 of relief to homeowners who spend more than five percent of their income on property taxes.
Houlihan suggested several ways to pay for the tax relief, including using a portion of the one percentage point increase in the Cook County sales tax and raiding excess TIF funds.