Suder playground, Stowe turf field get TIF as alderpersons question who decides

The Council approved both school projects 49-0 on Oct. 14, after a Finance Committee fight over the mayor's office's final say on TIF requests.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 20, 2026

Ald. Walter R. Burnett (27th Ward), shown in an inset, speaks about the Suder Montessori playground at the Committee on Finance as members sit at the dais, Oct. 5, 2026City of Chicago video

Two Chicago Public Schools on the West Side will get new outdoor space paid for with tax increment financing. On Oct. 14 the City Council voted 49 to 0 to send up to $1 million to replace the playground at Suder Montessori Magnet Elementary on the Near West Side, and up to $1.15 million for an artificial turf field at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary in Humboldt Park.

The ordinances are O2026-0028745 for Suder and O2026-0028743 for Stowe. Ald. Monique L. Scott (24th Ward) did not vote.

The two grants total $2.15 million, but the Oct. 5 Finance Committee hearing on them became a fight over who picks which schools get TIF help. Several alderpersons, including Ald. Anthony Beale (9th Ward), said the mayor's office has the final word in a review that does not meet in public, and that some wards wait while others move fast.

City officials said the process was designed to comply with the Open Meetings Act and to weigh all of the City's resources.

"There needs to be the same consideration for other people's projects and not going towards the same wards over and over and over and over again."

Ald. Anthony Beale (9th Ward), Committee on Finance, Oct. 5, 2026

What changes on my block?

At Suder, 2022 W. Washington Blvd. in the 27th Ward, the money replaces a playground that Jamel Chambers, CPS's executive director of government affairs, described as outdated and damaged. The school serves 476 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Work is scheduled to finish in fall 2027.

The Suder grant comes from the Central West TIF district and covers the whole $1 million budget. A CPS capital planning official said the project was not in the district's capital plan, and that it came from the school community and the alderperson over the summer. The official said the work will cost more than $1 million and CPS will pay the rest.

"We had a few calls at the beginning of the school year last year where folks are getting injured, and so this is on our radar right away."

Ald. Walter R. Burnett (27th Ward), Committee on Finance, Oct. 5, 2026

At Stowe, 3444 W. Wabansia Ave. in the 26th Ward, asphalt will be replaced with an artificial turf soccer field sized for players under 8, with striping, sports netting and stormwater drainage. The school serves 553 students from pre-K through eighth grade.

The Stowe project costs $1.4 million: $1.15 million from the Pulaski Corridor TIF and $250,000 from CPS, according to the ordinance. It is expected to be done by winter 2027.

Ald. Michael D. Rodriguez (22nd Ward), a former Suder parent, backed the playground. Ald. Walter R. Burnett (27th Ward) said parents had pressed for the repair since before he took office.

Ald. Walter R. Burnett on the Suder playground Committee on Finance, Oct 5, 2026 · 2:16:27–2:17:04

What supporters and opponents said

No one argued against the playground or the field. The objections were about the process that sends projects to the committee, known as the TIF request review.

Jeff Cohen, a managing deputy commissioner in the Department of Planning and Development, said the review replaced the old TIF Investment Committee in 2024, after a court found that body violated the Open Meetings Act. He said the review is built differently, is not an open meeting and meets monthly. Its approvals are posted on the City's open data portal, he said.

"The first is DPD's eligibility review to see if the request complies with the TIF Act. The second is a financial resources review per TIF district balances by OBM. And the final is a strategic analysis of resources by the mayor's office."

Jeff Cohen, Department of Planning and Development, Committee on Finance, Oct. 5, 2026

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward) said the change hides the same decisions behind new wording.

"At the end of the day, it's bureaucrats that are determining what's best for the community versus the elected official."

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward), Committee on Finance, Oct. 5, 2026

Beale asked where his own ward's TIF request stood and whether it would be done before the election. Cohen said he did not know where it stood and would report back. Beale asked why CPS was paying only $250,000 at Stowe instead of half; CPS said it added what the project needed.

Ald. Raymond A. Lopez (15th Ward) asked whether the Council could direct TIF money to a project by ordinance without the review. The department said it would ask the Law Department.

Cohen said the mayor's office adds a different angle that the other two steps do not look at in detail. He said he did not think that step supersedes anything.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas on the TIF request review Committee on Finance, Oct 5, 2026 · 1:59:55–2:00:52

How did it get here?

Both agreements were filed under the mayor's name and referred to the committee Sept. 23. The Finance Committee recommended both on Oct. 5 by voice vote, and the Council passed them Oct. 14.

Ald. Marty Quinn (13th Ward) asked how many more CPS projects were coming. CPS said about 10 over the next five or six months. Chambers put CPS's capital budget for fiscal 2027 at roughly $590 million.

What happens next?

Members asked for records through the committee chair: every project waiting in the review, ward by ward; every approval and denial by the mayor's office; and decisions going back to 2023. The record does not say when the department will deliver them.

Ald. Nicole T. Lee (11th Ward) said she has items approved by two of the three reviewers but still waiting on the third, and that members would pursue it during the budget. The mayor's 2027 budget is due at a special Council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Parents at Suder and Stowe can follow the work through their schools and the 27th and 26th ward offices.