River Forest's Madison Street Projects All Draw From One Fund. Here's What It Pays For Before 2040.

The lot at 7620 W. Madison St. is going to a developer for $10. Within a year, the River Forest village board also agreed to reimburse that developer up to $2 million, set aside $300,000 for seven neighboring homes, and take over a Civic Center whose roof has repeatedly failed. All three decisions draw on the same account.

That account is the Madison Street Tax Increment Financing district. The village created it in 2016, and it is scheduled to end on December 31, 2040. If you're weighing a home in south River Forest, the end date matters more than any rendering. Until then, nearly everything that changes along this stretch of Madison will be paid for from this fund. That includes the new building's own property taxes.

Where the new building's tax bill goes

In August, the board approved Five Thirty-One Partners' plan for a five-story, mixed-use building with 69 high-end apartments over first-floor retail. It rises to 87 feet at its tallest point, and most of the building sits just under 73 feet. The Wednesday Journal reported that the vote was 4-3, with Village President Cathy Adduci casting the deciding vote at about 12:30 a.m. She said the project "will expand our tax base, with new property and sales tax revenue."

The village's own Madison Street FAQ, updated in April 2026, explains how that expansion works while the TIF is active. "The property taxes generated by the development will be allocated to the Village's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund," it says, and those funds "can only be used for projects that revitalize and redevelop the Madison Street corridor."

The school districts are paid during the TIF's life through two channels:

• Per-student payments. For each student who actually enrolls from the development, District 90 and District 200 receive the per capita tuition charge, paid from the TIF fund. The payments are based on real enrollment, not projections.
• Surplus distributions. Under an intergovernmental agreement with both districts, surplus TIF funds go out to taxing bodies "at specific intervals prior to the TIF's expiration in 2040."

The FAQ says that after the TIF ends, "the school districts will receive full property taxes from the development."

Now look at the headline number. Representatives from the tax services firm Ryan, LLC projected that the building would generate $25 million in property taxes between 2026 and 2056. The projected total benefit was $7.5 million for District 200 and $11.4 million for District 90. That window is 30 years. The TIF covers the first 15 of them, 2026 through 2040, so roughly half the projection runs through a fund with its own bills to pay. The taxing bodies are set to receive the full stream in the later years.

One fund, several claims

The village's Sept. 28 board packet puts the fund at a $3.7 million balance, collecting more than $800,000 a year. For comparison, the fiscal 2025 annual report showed $946,690 in property-tax increment for the year and a $2,676,214 ending balance.

Here is what the fund already owes, what the law requires it to pay, and what the village projects it could also cover:

The village's projection says the fund can cover up to $4 million in initial Civic Center work through FY29 "while still meeting other future commitments." The Civic Center figure is how much the fund can absorb, not a sum the board has already committed. Every dollar committed elsewhere still comes out of the same balance.

The building site is ready. The village owned 10 Lathrop, 11 Ashland and 7612–7620 Madison, and finished demolishing them in 2024, which left a clear lot for a developer. The developer estimates construction will take 16 to 20 months. The approval-era terms require completion within 24 months of permitting. Because the first $1 million of the reimbursement is tied to the certificate of occupancy, that payment comes once the building is finished.

The Civic Center could be the largest draw on the fund

When the village took over the River Forest Civic Center at 8020 Madison on Sept. 28, it took on a building with years of deferred maintenance. The board packet says the building "has received minimal capital investment" since it opened, and a 2019 assessment estimated $3.4 million in needed improvements over 10 years. Staff put the building envelope first because the roof has repeatedly failed and two HVAC units no longer work. The preliminary estimates, which have not yet gone out for competitive bids, are:

1. Roof replacement: $870,000 to $986,000
2. HVAC replacement: $1,160,000
3. Masonry repairs and tuckpointing: $130,000

Those three items total about $2.16 million to $2.28 million, more than half of the $4 million the TIF can support through FY29. The building's location is what makes TIF money available. It sits inside the Madison Street district, so renovations qualify. Day-to-day operating costs do not qualify. Smaller repairs such as plumbing and light fixtures will come from a new Civic Center division of the General Fund. The village also received $149,221.56 from the building's former owner to put toward operations and repairs.

The building's tenants and their current leases:

• River Forest Community Center, through Dec. 31, 2029
• Opportunity Knocks, through June 30, 2028
• CAYR Connections, through June 30, 2027
• River Forest Township, through June 30, 2028
• Oak Park Township, through Dec. 31, 2026, with plans to vacate when the lease ends

The village said it would honor the existing leases and start talks with tenants about extensions. According to Wednesday Journal coverage, the building houses Community Center childcare and children's programs, Township senior programming and free transportation, and Township services including the Assessor's Office. If you live on the south end, those are the services this part of the fund is protecting.

Seven neighboring properties

The smallest item in the table applies to just seven properties. On Sept. 28 the board unanimously approved the Madison Street Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program. It sets aside $300,000 in TIF funds for seven properties on Ashland and Lathrop avenues next to the development site, with a maximum of $42,857 each. The Wednesday Journal quoted the ordinance's stated purpose, which includes encouraging "rehabilitation and enhancement of the eligible properties" and "appropriate screening, buffering and compatibility" between the corridor and the homes nearby.

The August approval included more conditions for the blocks around the site. The developer must replace lead service lines on the 000 blocks of Ashland and Lathrop, offer complimentary window washing for homes on the project's block after construction, and keep construction parking off residential streets. The board also required a post-construction traffic impact study.

If you're looking at a house on these blocks, the package matters. Part of the TIF goes directly into existing homes next to the site, a use Village Administrator Matt Walsh told the Wednesday Journal "uses TIF funds to directly invest in existing residential properties."

Why rentals, and why five stories

The village's FAQ says its real estate advisor, JLL, marketed the site to hundreds of firms. Market conditions and financing constraints made condominiums "infeasible," so every proposal received was for rental housing. According to the same FAQ, only 11% of River Forest's housing units are rentals, and the new building adds "a different rental product type." On height, the village notes that River Forest already has more than fifteen five-story residential buildings, along Madison, Lake Street, Harlem Avenue and North Avenue.

These answers come from the same logic as the TIF. The $10 land price and the reimbursement are what make a building of this size work for the developer. The building's taxes then go back into the fund that paid for them, until December 31, 2040.

Quick answers

Does the TIF change my own property tax rate? The village's FAQ explains how the development's taxes are allocated, and the Madison Street TIF page holds the district's founding documents. Your own bill depends on your property and every taxing body that levies on it, so check it against the Cook County records for your parcel.

When does the corridor's tax revenue go to the taxing bodies in full? After the district's scheduled end on December 31, 2040. Before then, it reaches them through per-student payments and periodic surplus distributions.

Is the Civic Center work funded? Up to $4 million in initial renovations through FY29 is eligible from the TIF, with Board approval. The envelope estimates had not been competitively bid as of the September board packet.

This post is general information about how River Forest describes its TIF, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm how any of it affects your property with a tax attorney, an accountant or the Cook County Assessor's Office.

If you're comparing blocks near Madison Street and want to know how the new building, the neighbor grants and the Civic Center plans affect a particular house, Cynthia Gajewski and Team Cynthia can go through it with you, street by street. Let's Find Your Perfect Home Together.