During the mayoral campaign, Chicagoans heard a great deal about tax increment financing, including frequent criticism that the program, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s favorite economic development tool, gave big tax breaks to downtown businesses and left neighborhoods short.

An analysis of public records by ChicagoTalks, a news Web site produced by Columbia College Chicago, shows that TIF subsidies benefited dozens of profitable companies  many of them in Chicago’s thriving downtown  while little money went to struggling, outlying neighborhoods. South Lawndale and Auburn-Gresham, for example, received no subsidies over the last decade.

The TIF program was designed to eradicate blight, add jobs and spur economic growth. It supports public and private sector projects including infrastructure, parks, schools and corporate subsidies. Of the $1.2 billion designated for private sector projects since 2000, nearly half was earmarked for some of the area’s most profitable corporations. City officials approved financing for Quaker Oats, CareerBuilder, UPS, Target and Jewel-Osco, among others.

More than half of the city’s 171 TIF projects are clustered in or near the Loop. Money was also given to cultural institutions, some in the downtown area.