Shot in the Arm Seen for Back of the Yards

Besides four communities, the politically fragmented area is in three US Congressional districts as well as two aldermanic wards.

Although the increasingly controversial financing scheme was greeted with skepticism from community members fearful of displacement and higher property taxes, the plan is backed by 3rd Ward Alderman Dorothy J. Tillman and 11th Ward Alderman James A. Balcer. "I think this will be a very good thing for our community," Tillman says. "We'll be able to use a lot of those tax dollars. We have a lot of things that need to be done on the west side of our ward."

The city is the biggest landowner in the proposed TIF district, with 740 residential parcels, or half of the total. In addition, there is 600,000 sf of vacant or under-used industrial land within the district's boundaries. Many of the potential commercial parcels along the heavier-traveled thoroughfares are brownfields, unable to obtain conventional bank financing.

However, the Norfolk and Southern intermodal yard is considered a nationwide hub for the shipping and distribution of meat and frozen food. There already are early signs of redevelopment in the area, with a 92-unit multifamily building in the works at 57th and Halsted streets and a new garment factory at 43rd and Halsted streets. However, the city would like to expand a park further north on Halsted, as well as replace current retail stores on three acres at 55th and Halsted streets.