Board of Education v. Village of Burr Ridge

The Village of Burr Ridge (the village) (defendant) sought to have a vacant tract (the property) classified as a tax-increment financing (TIF) district, meaning that the property’s value would be held at a base level for tax purposes in order to encourage development. The amount of any tax increase based on an increase in value would be paid by the owner into a trust fund. The property had tax delinquencies and two owners, and it consisted of seven parcels, two of which were too large for ready development. There had been interest in development in the recent past. The property had been on a flood-plain map but had received drainage improvements since then. The village received a report that the property would not qualify as a TIF district and commissioned another study, which found that the property would qualify, because the development was impeded by several blighting factors: (1) diversity of ownership, (2) flooding, (3) obsolete platting, and (4) tax delinquencies. Under the Illinois TIF Act, in order for land to qualify as a TIF district, at least two blight factors must exist, or else the property must have qualified as a blighted improved area before becoming vacant. Furthermore, the TIF Act requires that any eligible property must not be reasonably anticipated to be developed but for the TIF designation. The Board of Education of the Pleasantdale School District No. 107 (the school district) (plaintiff) brought suit to challenge the TIF designation and filed for summary judgment. The Circuit Court of Cook County granted summary judgment for the school district. The village appealed.