Alderman Rips Developers Seeking Tax Break For Not Having Numbers On Minority Participation On Building Rehab; 'Stop Playing Games'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Several aldermen threatened to block a $20 million property tax break for a project to convert a historic downtown office building into a new hotel, when the developers could not answer questions about minority participation in the $137 million project.
The City Council Economic Development Committee approved the property tax break for the rehabilitation of 226 W. Jackson Blvd. into a 350-room hotel. The "Class L" property tax incentive will provide the developers with $19.9 million in property tax breaks over 12 years.
However, Ald. Gregory Mitchell (7th) led the demand to block a full City Council vote on the tax break, after the developers could not tell aldermen how much minority participation was involved in the project.
Mitchell and several of his colleagues were aghast that the owners and their attorneys could not provide specifics about minority involvement in the project, when that is a regular question aldermen raise for projects receiving tax breaks from the city. Mitchell said "makes no sense" for the building owners to be unprepared for their questions.
"You knew what you were doing coming in this room, and it feels like you guys are playing games with us. If you have not seen City Council, go look at the pictures, go look at the names. It is predominantly minority," Mitchell said. "Why do you think we're going to continue to let you guys do things, give up tax credits, give up incentives, when you don't even pay attention to what the makeup of this body looks like that has to vote on this stuff and take these votes back to our respective wards?"
Mitchell said, while he voted yes for the tax break in committee, he would move to delay a vote by the full City Council until aldermen get the answers they are seeking.
"Do not come to this body anymore without adequate representation of minority participation. Stop trying to play us like it's a game. It is not a game," Mitchell said.
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) also wondered how the building's owners could have been so ill-prepared for questions about minority participation in the project.
"We have been talking about this meeting after meeting after meeting. If I were to go to any class not prepared for the test, I'd fail, and so I don't understand it either when we're all asking," he said. "Frankly it feels like people are going to waltz in here and just get the votes from everybody. We've been asking it every single time."
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), whose ward includes the building seeking the tax break, said he would support holding up the incentive until the building owners provide data on minority involvement in the renovation work.
"To come in here not prepared to answer those basic questions, I think did you a disservice," Reilly told the building's owners.
Reilly said he expects to have those answers provided before he'll allow a full City Council vote on the tax incentives.
