:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/Q6LVH5LKTZA6XDAS2IZRD5WO7Y.jpg)
Winfield-area school districts have been dealt a setback in their yearslong legal fight with the village over a special taxing district.
A DuPage County judge has sided with the village and found that its enactment of a tax increment financing district — the property in the TIF district lies entirely within Winfield’s Town Center — was “not clearly and convincingly wrong” and cannot be held invalid.
The judge’s decision comes more than three years after Winfield Elementary District 34 filed a lawsuit — West Chicago High School District 94 joined as a plaintiff in the case — against the village challenging the legality of the TIF district, which consists of some 50 tax parcels.
In a TIF district, as redevelopment boosts property values, the extra tax revenue that otherwise would go to taxing bodies such as schools and parks can be used to pay for improvements within its boundaries.
Judge Bryan Chapman recently granted the village’s motion for summary judgment.
“It’s always been our objective to work with them and to share a reasonable amount of the excess increment that comes out of the TIF, which has been our goal from the beginning,” Village President Carl Sorgatz said.
“So we’re certainly hopeful that now that the court has ruled clearly in our favor and clearly that the TIF is legal, that they will be willing to now finally come to the table and reach a settlement agreement so that we can put this behind us, and both organizations can focus on what their key responsibilities are.”
According to a message to parents, District 34 officials are analyzing the judge’s decision.
“After we fully digest the decision and its response to the concerns we presented as well as receive feedback from the District’s attorneys, the Board will make its determination as to whether or not to appeal the case,” the message stated. “The Board respects Judge Chapman’s ruling but is working to understand how the TIF meets the requirements of the Illinois TIF Act.”
Among other findings, the judge agreed with the village that the TIF district qualifies as a “conservation area” based on at least three eligibility factors listed in the TIF Act.
The judge also determined the village has satisfied what’s known as the “but-for” test. For a TIF to be adopted, the judge noted, a municipality must find that “the redevelopment project area on the whole has not been subject to growth and development through investment by private enterprise and would not reasonably be anticipated to be developed without the adoption of the redevelopment plan.”
Sorgatz said in a statement that the lawsuit “has only served to delay economic development and progress in Winfield Town Center.” He cited a proposed 147-unit apartment building downtown.
“We have a development agreement with the developer, and the whole thing that we’ve been waiting for is to get a resolution on the lawsuit,” Sorgatz told the Daily Herald.
The Winfield Fire Protection District also will be moving into a new headquarters facility on County Farm Road. “So that frees up another area for us to do additional development,” Sorgatz said.
The village also has said it wants to use TIF funds to build a police department and municipal center in a new location to open up additional space for development near the Metra station.
District 34 has argued that the proper means for the village to obtain funds to construct a new village hall is to ask voters through a referendum question.