Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced this week the latest round of Tax Increment Finance, or TIF, reforms. TIFs are an economic tool meant to spur development. But for some, there’s a rub. The property tax dollars collected in these districts don’t always go to schools, parks, the county or other taxing bodies. They go to the TIF fund, where the Mayor and City Council decide how this money gets spent.

Eight Forty-Eight discussed the details of TIF reform with Carole Brown, Chair of Chicago’s TIF Reform Task Force, and Chicago Reader senior writer Mick Dumke, who has covered TIFs and the politics around them.