A court fight has erupted between Triton College and the village of Rosemont over an alleged attempt by the village to sell the Rosemont Theatre, but still block the community college and other taxing bodies from reaping any increased property tax revenue should the village-owned entertainment venue be placed back on the tax rolls under private ownership.
On Feb. 19, the trustees of Triton Community College District 504 filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against the village.
In the lawsuit, Triton College's leadership asserts the village has violated state law by improperly establishing a new tax increment financing (TIF) district centered on the Rosemont Theatre.
Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens
| repstephens.com
The college asserts this would, essentially, allow the village to not only enjoy the financial gain from selling the currently publicly owned theater, but then also allow the village to claim for itself most of the property taxes the theater would generate, for as long as the TIF district remains in place.
For its part, Rosemont has responded with a motion to dismiss. Among other assertions, Rosemont argues Triton College's trustees never formally approved filing the lawsuit during an open meeting. And, they said, Triton College can't show how the village's actions have harmed them, because the theater remains, for now, under village ownership and is not generating any tax revenue of any kind.
They assert the college's lawsuit is premature, at best, as it is based on speculation over how the college might be harmed if the village pursues a particular action.
In mid-January, Rosemont's village government generated headlines when Mayor Brad Stephens confirmed the village is in talks with an undisclosed "substantial" entertainment company to purchase the theater.
It is not publicly known at this time what the potential terms of such a sale might be, nor how much the village might receive from selling the Rosemont Theatre, which has been owned and operated by the village for decades.
The theater continues to attract relatively large and popular acts. In April, for instance, comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are scheduled to bring their touring show to the theater, amid an ongoing collection of musical and theatrical productions this spring.
According to published reports, Stephens said the village has been discussing selling the theater for over a year.
In its lawsuit, Triton College, however, said the village also appears to have taken steps in the past year to place the "thriving" venue under TIF districts, an action asserts the village should not be legally allowed to perform.
The authority to create such TIF districts is delegated to cities and villages under Illinois state law, with the intent to address so-called economic "blight" and encourage development and redevelopment within the districts.
Under TIF districts, city and village governments are empowered to claim the so-called property tax "increment" to reinvest into the district. The increment is generally defined as the amount of property taxes generated that exceed the amount of property taxes generated within the district prior to the establishment of the TIF.
Thus, school districts and other non-municipal taxing bodies continue to receive some property taxes while the TIF is in place, but not as much as they would if the TIF district had not been created.
TIF districts have a lifespan of 23 years under the law.
Cities and villages are also authorized under the law to enter into special TIF revenue sharing agreements with school districts and other taxing bodies to pacify community concerns over the harm those districts might suffer from the creation of a TIF.
In its lawsuit, however, Triton argued the creation of a TIF centered on a theater currently owned by the village could mean the village could claim all of the property taxes the theater might generate, since it is now paying $0 in property taxes.
Triton notes Rosemont moved this summer to create a new TIF district and extend another to encompass the Rosemont Theatre.
Triton asserts such TIF districts are improper, both because the Rosemont Theatre is not "blighted" in any way and because the TIF changes are allegedly intended merely to allow the village to raise revenue for its own use by claiming all of the potential property taxes paid by the theater for the next 23 years.
"Because the Rosemont Theater was placed within (the TIF district), any future property tax revenue generated by the private ownership of the Theater would not go to local taxing districts like Triton College. Instead, all incremental tax revenue would be diverted into the Village’s TIF fund for its own use," the college wrote in its lawsuit.
"In short, if the Village were to proceed with the sale of the Rosemont Theater with the TIF in place, all property taxes generated by the property would be diverted to the Village for up to 23 years.
"The Village’s use of TIF financing as a mechanism to capture future tax revenue - rather than as a tool for redeveloping an actually blighted area - is a clear abuse of the TIF Act and unlawfully deprives Triton College of its rightful tax revenue," the college wrote.
Triton College asked the court to issue an order blocking the sale of the Rosemont Theatre, unless the village removes the TIF districts from off of the theater and allows the college - and, by extension, other school districts and taxing bodies - to claim their share of the property tax revenue the theater would generate, should it enter into private ownership.
The case remains pending in Cook County Circuit Court.
Triton College is represented in the action by attorneys Daniel J. Cozzi and Kaitlyn N. Kloss, of the firm of Swanson Martin & Bell LLP, of Chicago.
Rosemont is represented by attorney Matthew D. Rose, of the firm of Donahue & Rose P.C., of Rosemont.