The Dunning Tax Increment Financing District, due to expire at the end of the year, should be extended for another 12 years to fund a proposed new high school near Oak Park Avenue and Irving Park Road, Ald. Tim Cullerton (38th) said View Full Caption City of Chicago

DUNNING — A public hearing on whether the Dunning Tax Increment Financing District, due to expire at the end of the year, should be extended for another 12 years will take place Tuesday at Chicago City Hall.

If approved this summer by the City Council, the extension of the TIF district to 2027 could generate $60 million, according to the proposal from the city's Department of Planning and Development. The proposed budget would earmark $47 million for "public improvement and public facilities."

That could fund a proposed new high school near Oak Park Avenue and Irving Park Road, officials said.

A new high school — which has been a proposal without plans for years — would relieve the space crunch at Taft High School, which is the most crowded public high school in Chicago.

The TIF district, which was established in 1991, is on the grounds of the former Chicago-Read Mental Health Center and adjacent to the Dunning-Read Conservation Area, a 23-acre oasis of wetlands and woodlands being restored to its natural state near Irving Park Road and Oak Park Avenue.

Tax-increment financing districts capture all growth in the property tax base in a designated area for a set period of time, usually 20 years or more, and divert it into a special fund for projects designed to spur redevelopment and eradicate blight.

The public hearing will take place from 1-2 p.m. Tuesday in the council chambers at City Hall, 138 W. Washington St.

After the public hearing, the matter is set to be considered by the Chicago Plan Commission May 21, before being presented to the Chicago City Council in June and July.

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