Illinois § 11-74.4-2

§ 11-74.4-2.

(a) It is hereby found and declared that there exist in many municipalities within this State blighted conservation and industrial park conservation areas, as defined herein; that the conservation areas are rapidly deteriorating and declining and may soon become blighted areas if their decline is not checked; that the stable economic and physical development of the blighted areas, conservation areas and industrial park conservation areas is endangered by the presence of blighting factors as manifested by progressive and advanced deterioration of structures, by the overuse of housing and other facilities, by a lack of physical maintenance of existing structures, by obsolete and inadequate community facilities and a lack of sound community planning, by obsolete platting, diversity of ownership, excessive tax and special assessment delinquencies, by the growth of a large surplus of workers who lack the skills to meet existing or potential employment opportunities or by a combination of these factors; that as a result of the existence of blighted areas and areas requiring conservation, there is an excessive and disproportionate expenditure of public funds, inadequate public and private investment, unmarketability of property, growth in delinquencies and crime, and housing and zoning law violations in such areas together with an abnormal exodus of families and businesses so that the decline of these areas impairs the value of private investments and threatens the sound growth and the tax base of taxing districts in such areas, and threatens the health, safety, morals, and welfare of the public and that the industrial park conservation areas include under-utilized areas which, if developed as industrial parks, will promote industrial and transportation activities, thereby reducing the evils attendant upon involuntary unemployment and enhancing the public health and welfare of this State. (b) It is hereby found and declared that in order to promote and protect the health, safety, morals, and welfare of the public, that blighted conditions need to be eradicated and conservation measures instituted, and that redevelopment of such areas be undertaken; that to remove and alleviate adverse conditions it is necessary to encourage private investment and restore and enhance the tax base of the taxing districts in such areas by the development or redevelopment of project areas. The eradication of blighted areas and treatment and improvement of conservation areas and industrial park conservation areas by redevelopment projects is hereby declared to be essential to the public interest. (c) It is found and declared that the use of incremental tax revenues derived from the tax rates of various taxing districts in redevelopment project areas for the payment of redevelopment project costs is of benefit to said taxing districts for the reasons that taxing districts located in redevelopment project areas would not derive the benefits of an increased assessment base without the benefits of tax increment financing, all surplus tax revenues are turned over to the taxing districts in redevelopment project areas and all said districts benefit from the removal of blighted conditions, the eradication of conditions requiring conservation measures, and the development of industrial parks. (Source: P.A. 84-1090.)