Mell Challenger In 33Rd Ward Blasts Tif Program Patronage

• Chloe Riley
• Tim Meegan, 33rd Ward candidate, working at his campaign office in Albany Park

If it were up to social studies teacher Tim Meegan, tax increment financing money would be a thing of the past.

“Right now, TIF money is the new form of patronage,” Meegan says, pointing to the $5 million in TIF dollars that subsidized construction of the new Hyatt hotel in Hyde Park or Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to allocate $55 million in TIF funds for the DePaul University basketball arena near McCormick Place.

However, in her first year as alderman, she voted with Emanuel 100 percent of the time, a record that follows the path set by her father.

“For the record, my father didn’t want me to go into politics,” Mell said. “We’re different people. I’m not my father. Anybody who knows me absolutely knows that. We conduct business very differently.”

Deb Mell has close to $76,000 in campaign funds, according to state records. Meegan has only raised around $38,000 to date, but he says Mell can be beat if his team can get his name to every corner of the 33rd Ward.