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City Council April 22, 2020 Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development
RESOLUTION
On Using Tax Increment Financing to Support Businesses During State of Illinois Disaster Proclamations
WHEREAS, in late 2019 and early 2020, a global outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged; and,
WHEREAS, Centers for Disease Control and Protection emphasize that the virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading easily and sustainably between people, as the virus is spread through respiratory droplets between people who are in close contact with one another (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-qetting-sick/how-covid-
spreads.html); and,
WHEREAS, Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation on March 9, 2020, regarding the spread of COVID-19 in Illinois, and issued subsequent executive orders limiting large gatherings, limiting operations of restaurants and bars, and defining essential businesses to remain open during the outbreak; and,
WHEREAS, limited business functions is placing strain on business operating revenue, especially for small businesses throughout the City of Chicago ("the City"); and,
WHEREAS, small businesses provide a crucial foundation to the City's economy and neighborhood base, offering employment, services, and places for congregation for residents; and,
WHEREAS, the City must act swiftly and definitively to enact economic and financial policies to support its businesses; and,
WHEREAS, the City can use Tax Increment Financing (TIF) structures designed to support small business infrastructure to pivot to disaster relief measures; and,
WHEREAS, the State of Illinois enabling legislation that defines TIF purposes must be revised to allow the City to reorient available TIF funds for small business support; and,
WHEREAS, reorienting TIF funds for small business support is necessary to prevent the obsolescence of these commercial uses (due ...
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