Is Schaumburg's Proposed TIF for a Metra STAR Line, a Train to Nowhere?

The official name of this redevelopment project is the STAR Line Transit Oriented Development District Plan (“T.O.D. Plan”). A TOD is a high-density mixed-use area near a train station to encourage train use and other benefits. See the RTA’s TOD program at http://cp.rtachicago.com/community-planning/transit-oriented-development.html. The Star Line station is planned near the Schaumburg convention center which is located near the Jane Addams Expressway.

If a rail line is economically viable, then there is nothing inherently wrong with a planning a TOD around a train station. However, there are two major problems with the Star Line TOD Plan. First, the plan is financed by a TIF and second, the plan fails to describe even the most basic costs and location of the train station or any adjacent access and parking.

To finance the project, Schaumburg wants to create a Tax Increment Finance District (Star Line TIF) which extends all the way to Algonquin Road. According to records and maps obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Star Line TIF will be used for far more than just public improvements surrounding a new train station. A TIF is not necessary to improve an area around a train station. Look at all the Chicago suburbs that developed around a train station before the TIF Act was enacted in 1977. There is a natural market incentive to redevelop near a train station without government subsidy. If the rail line or station is viable at all, the role of government should be limited to planning for the actual train station and necessary public access around it.

According to FOIA requests, Schaumburg does not have a single document or written correspondence from either Metra or the RTA for the entire time the plans were being prepared. That planning period covers the time between 1/29/2008 to 1/15/2009, or nearly a year. Before $120 million in taxes is earmarked for the area, shouldn’t there be some form of communication between the transportation agencies that will operate the trains and the village where the station will be located?

In the plan, there are no cost estimates for the station, parking lots, or even access roads to the station. Why? What expenses will be covered by Metra or other government agencies? There are no alternate plans or costs. How can the village come up with a project price tag of $120 million if there is no cost break down of these vital station cost or even some written communication with Metra or the RTA?

There is also a major problem with the document map. If the entire plan is designed around the station, why doesn’t the rail line, station, parking, or access roads for the station appear on the map? Will the rail line and station be in the middle of the Jane Adams Expressway or the side? How can the project proceed and start destroying businesses and residences in the area without knowing where the key facility will be located and if the destruction of existing buildings is even necessary? It makes no sense to destroy the entire Fieldpointe apartment complex if the station’s location doesn’t even appear on the plan. This is like building football stands around a potential football field before you know where the field itself will be.

The TIF district map goes all the way north to Algonquin Road. With a possible station planned near the expressway, why is the TIF district extended so far unless this is really a massive redevelopment project that is far beyond the scope of a train station.

Compare this plan to the relatively new Schaumburg rail station on the Milwaukee Road line located near Alexian field. According to the Village website, that station cost a few million dollars and was shared with other agencies. No TIF was required. Why is the price tag for this TIF estimated at around $120 million when the price tag for the other station was far more reasonable? What are the real plans for this area and why don’t we know those details?

The Star Line has a slim chance of becoming a reality due to lack of government funding and a financially challenged Metra. Metra goes from one economic crisis to another. It was saved from total collapse recently with a .25 % sales tax increase for Cook and the all the collar counties. Metra itself has stated in its 2009 budget report “There is not even sufficient money to keep up with the routine replacement of our aging locomotives and passenger cars.” See http://metrarail.com/Budget/2009_P_BudgetBook.pdf. That doesn’t sound like Metra will be able to support a new line in this TIF area that would increase their deficit in operating mass transit for the region.

For Schaumburg commit to spending over $120 million of our tax dollars to the Star Line area before obtaining Metra’s commitment and sustainable funding for the line is both unwise and unrealistic.

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