Blighted
Communities Will Use That Money if the Millionaires Won’t
November 11, 2011, Chicago –
Yesterday, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CEO Terrance
Duffy stated that he wasn’t looking for TIF money, and that
the $15 million approved by the City of Chicago
was never approved by him, according to the Chicago
Tribune. “I never accepted the
TIF," Duffy said. "It was approved, I never accepted it. …
No check's been cashed.” He
followed this by saying “We don't have our hands out. I'll
say it again. I'm not looking for TIF money. I'm not looking
for incentive money.”
With over $7 million in cuts to
libraries still on the table, over $3 million in cuts to
mental health clinics, and $87 million in cuts to teachers,
after-school programs, and academic programs for
low-performing schools, CME’s unwanted $15 million should be
immediately declared surplus and returned to the schools,
libraries, and clinics so that the working families of
Chicago get the services they need.
“We are thrilled that CEO Duffy
agrees with the community that the CME does not need this
money. The
hard-working taxpayers of Chicago would be glad
to put that money to immediate use. TIF money should not be
used for entities like the CME that made over $950 million
dollars in profit last year alone.,” said Amisha Patel, the
Executive Director of the Grassroots Collaborative.
ABOUT THE
GRASSROOTS COLLABORATIVE
Community and
labor groups present are organized by the Grassroots
Collaborative, a coalition that forced Mayor Daley to use his
first and only veto with the Big Box Ordinance which sought
higher wages for workers employed by stores such as Walmart and
Target. More recently, the Grassroots Collaborative organized
the People’s City Council Meeting held on July 7, 2011 that
brought together 19 Aldermen and 1600 community leaders in
support of a progressive city agenda.
