An article A.D. Quig in today’s Chicago Tribune should convince legislators that ordinary taxpayers will be the big losers if the bill to subsidize all projects costing more than $100 milliion–like the lithium battery farm planned for Prairie Grover.
“Geoffrey Propheter, a University of Colorado Denver professor and stadium tax expert says][the true value ]is likely closer to $675 million, though that is a conservative estimate on the lower end….
“Using that $675 million figure, removing any special incentives, and applying today’s effective tax rate for properties in Arlington Heights, the tax bill for the stadium would be about $53.2 million, according to the treasurer’s report.
“Under the megaprojects proposal, however, the preconstruction assessment would be frozen, yielding a roughly $4 million bill plus a roughly estimated $10 million annual special payment.
“The $10 million figure is only an illustration, but not far from what the Bears pay in rent at Soldier Field, about $7 million annually. The White Sox pay about $2 million in rent at Rate Field, which is also publicly owned. The Bears would have to come to an agreement with local taxing bodies on what the actual payment would be.
“Taken together, the special payment and estimated tax bill would be equivalent to the Bears getting a $39 million tax break every year, or $1.5 billion over 40 years.”
Most legislators are incapable of doing the math done by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappa’s researcher Hal Dardick.
