Chicago program that set aside billions for development has left poor areas behind, UIC study finds

A program that has successfully helped revive Chicago’s once-downtrodden downtown has been less effective in the city’s poorer neighborhoods, including many on the South Side and West Side, a sweeping study published Wednesday found. Authorized by state lawmakers more than 40 years ago, tax-increment financing — known for short as TIF — aims to revitalize struggling neighborhoods by stimulating economic development. When the city designates a TIF district, it freezes the assessed property…