Also, while the city has aggressively used the financing tool to spur redevelopment of blighted areas, the group suggests the market would have fueled resurgences on its own.

The NCBC calls for the state to "unfreeze" the equalized assessed value of the TIF district, allowing taxing bodies to have access to the growth in property value equal to the rate of inflation. It also calls for better reporting by the municipalities using TIFs to show the effects on local taxing districts.

In studying just 36 of Chicago's TIFs, the group estimates the districts will get $1.3 billion in revenue over the next 23 years that would have been produced without the financing. "By capturing this revenue, the city is controlling land use and development for particular areas," the report states.

Meanwhile, the study found underperforming TIFs where equalized value is increasing at a slower rate than it was before the district was created.

NCBC executive director Jacqueline Leavy says the report has stirred interest in Springfield, where representatives and senators from both parties are exploring a state-appointed commission that would evaluate TIF programs throughout the state.

"We think it's going to get a serious look," Leavy tells GlobeSt.com. "I don't want to be a prognosticator when it comes to reshaping public policy, but we think we've gotten people's attention. We think we've struck a sensitive nerve when it comes to using TIFs in area that were already growing in value."