Aldermen Debate Tax Break For Spike Lee's Film, 'Chiraq'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Members of a City Council panel debated, but did not vote on, a measure calling for director Spike Lee to be blocked from getting a state tax credit for his Chicago-based movie provocatively called "Chiraq," reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
"Chiraq" recently wrapped shooting and is scheduled for release via Amazon in December.
Politicians initially took issue with the film's title, a label they claim put the city in a bad light.
Critics of those aldermen say that rather than holding hearings on tax credits, they should be doing more to stop the violence.
Supporters of the film say it pumped $15 million into Chicago economy, providing jobs and generating revenue for restaurants and hotels.
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Alderman Will Burns says Spike Lee should be denied a tax credit for his movie because the name "Chiraq" insults people on the South Side and makes it harder to attract business.
"I am very concerned that the state of Illinois would consider providing a $3 million tax credit to a movie at a time where our schools are underfunded, when our pensions are underfunded and when there are many challenges facing both the city and the state of Illinois," Burns said.
But State Senator Jacqueline Collins, a sponsor of the film production incentive, says the movie will reflect reality and did mean business and jobs.
"The production employed nearly 3,000 extras, 100 crew members and 20 interns, most of whom were residents of Englewood and the surrounding neighborhood," Senator Collins said.
Alderman Burns did not call for a vote.
Meantime, Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina, said the debate is missing the point.
"It's like a shell game," Pfleger said before the hearings on Monday. "We are ignoring the real problem. There are people today at cemeteries. ... Do you think they care about a movie title?"
Burns said the hearing was not a distraction for the issue of violence. He said people oppose the title because they fear the movie will portray "a mashup of their neighborhoods as a battle ground of Iraq."
