First Street TIF Amendment

The City is proposing a twelve year extension of the First Street Tax Increment Financing District which is set to expire at the end of 2025.

Background

The First Street TIF District was established in 2002 to redevelop the downtown area. From 2006-2008, the City issued $28,910,000 in bonds to fund public infrastructure improvements which was crucial for the First Street Development project. While the initial two phases of the project were completed, the Great Recession in 2008 caused the largest phase of redevelopment work to be cancelled. From 2008 to 2015, no further redevelopment occurred, resulting in significantly less EAV (equalized assessed value) than originally anticipated. The delay in development and lower EAV with the district resulted in the inability to pay the bond issuance. The City took measures to delay the burden of the bond payments. The bonds issued to fund the project were refinanced with principal repayment dates set farther in the future in order to allow for more time for the development project to continue, and generate TIF increment to repay the bonds. In 2015, the TIF was amended to revise the redevelopment project area boundaries generate more increment to make bond payments. However, as of the end 2024 approximately $29,406,526 in total debt service principal and interest remains outstanding. To continue making bond payments, the City must extend the TIF District by the statutory twelve years. This extension will allow additional time for the tax increment generated within the TIF to fully pay off the bonds.

Process

An extension of a TIF District requires legislative approval from the State of Illinois. Before seeking state approval, the City must secure letters of support and resolutions from each affected taxing district. In 2024, City staff met with all impacted districts and successfully obtained the necessary letters of support. In January 2025, the Illinois General Assembly formally approved and codified the TIF extension under 65 ILCS 5/11-74.4-3.5(c) (281). With state approval now in place, the City must complete the local approval process. Tentative dates for that process are as follows:

  • June 5, 2025 – The proposed TIF extension amendment was filed with the City Clerk and is now available for public review. (See the "More Information" section below for digital access to the document.)

  • July 29, 2025 – A Joint Review Board meeting is tentatively scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at St. Charles City Hall (2 East Main St. St. Charles, IL 60174) in the City Council Chambers.

  • September 2, 2025 – A Public Hearing is tentatively scheduled at City Hall for the City Council to consider adoption of the amendment.

  • October 6, 2025 – Final City Council consideration and approval of the TIF extension is scheduled for this meeting.

Please note that all dates are subject to change however any changes in dates will be public posted. 

Interested Parties Registry

Any individual or organization interested in obtaining information pertaining to activities First Street TIF Amendment is entitled to register as an Interested Party. Upon registration, Interested Parties will be entitled to receive all notices and documents required to be delivered under the Act and the City’s Registration Rules with respect to the Redevelopment Project Area. Registration forms can be found below under More Information section of this webpage or picked up at the Office of the City Clerk, Two East Main Street, St. Charles, Illinois 60174. Registration forms will not be mailed, emailed or faxed. For more information, please call the Office the City Clerk at (630) 377-4422.

 

Project Area

First Street TIF Map

More Information

To learn more about how Tax Increment Financing works, click here to visit the City's TIF webpage. 

The Amendment Document(PDF, 3MB) is available for viewing. 

To review the legal notice please see the Legal Notices page. 

Fill out the Interested Parties Registration Form(PDF, 157KB) to register to receive updates related to this TIF. 

 

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