Mount Prospect holds hearing on South TIF expansion; staff and SB Friedman outline eligibility and $170M ceiling

The Village Board held a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the South Mount Prospect Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Redevelopment Plan that would expand the district by roughly 60 acres in three subareas and increase the TIF budget ceiling to roughly $170 million. Staff and SB Friedman Development Advisors presented eligibility findings and recommended amendments; the public commented at length, and the board closed the hearing with plans to consider ordinances on Jan. 21, 2025.

Jason Selfcross, director of community and economic development, summarized the amendment’s purpose: to support public infrastructure in South Mount Prospect and three other subareas added after recent annexations. "TIF is the most impactful single economic development tool which communities have at their disposal," Selfcross said, listing possible public improvements including roads, water main and stormwater projects, a community connection center, façade grants and remediation of environmental contamination.

Jeff Dickinson of SB Friedman, the village’s consultant, described the eligibility work: improved parcels did not meet a full blight finding but satisfied a "conservation" finding in some subareas, while vacant-parcel criteria were met in part via a runoff/flooding study. Dickinson said the plan adds an objective to remedy stormwater management and flooding where the flooding factor was used as part of eligibility.

Public commenters raised multiple concerns. One resident asked whether eminent domain could be used against five small residential properties and said he had previously litigated against the village; the mayor and staff replied that council had no present plan to use eminent domain against those homes and that a market sale remains possible. Another resident, who identified himself as a local Park District commissioner, questioned whether recreational uses under high-voltage ComEd lines were realistic given rising transmission voltages and potential electromagnetic-field concerns; staff said the park district and engineering design would need to evaluate such constraints.

Questions from residents also addressed affordable housing, whether TIF funds could help Park District facilities or walking-path improvements, and how the TIF interacts with newly annexed parcels south of Oakton. Staff said the Joint Review Board unanimously recommended approval in December, that mailed notices were sent to thousands of property owners and that three ordinances amending the TIF boundary will be brought to the board on Jan. 21 for first readings.

No ordinance was adopted at the hearing; the public hearing record will be part of the Jan. 21 consideration.