Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI)

Tax Fight With Clarendon Hills Appears Over

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale High School District 86 officials sounded satisfied Thursday with a downsized tax district in Clarendon Hills. For months, the district had opposed a larger tax increment financing district, or TIF. "From where we started with this TIF proposal, this is pretty fantastic news for the district," said District 86 board President Catherine Greenspon. "I would agree it's a pretty significant change from what was originally proposed, so good progress," said Josh Stephenson, District 86's top finance official. On Monday, the Clarendon Hills Village Board unanimously approved the tax district along 55th Street to spur development. In doing so, the village made major concessions to District 86, Hinsdale District 181 and Maercker District 60, all of which criticized the larger district. Under state law, a tax district's growth in property tax income for 23 years would be diverted for use in the district itself, rather than taxing bodies such as schools. Last week, Clarendon Hills publicly unveiled its proposal to send the tax money from most of the properties in the TIF, including Jewel and PNC Bank, to other taxing bodies. But the village would keep the tax district's income from the vacant property that was once the site of Tracy's Tavern, which officials hope to see developed. With the changes, the village's expected TIF budget is down by half, to $12.6 million. "It's come down precipitously," District 86 board member Jeff Waters said. The District 86 board plans to vote next month on an agreement with the village on the tax district. Other local government bodies are expected to do the same.