District Presses Village of Monee on TIF Expiration, Moves to Sell School Property

Article Summary: Crete-Monee officials are urging the Village of Monee to finalize the expiration of a key tax increment financing (TIF) district before a November deadline to ensure the school district receives its share of tax revenue. The Board of Education also directed staff to put the former Monee Education Center property back out for public bid.

Monee TIF and Property Sale Key Points:

• The district is awaiting an ordinance from the Village of Monee to officially dissolve TIF 3, which has expired.

• The ordinance must be filed with Will County by November 1 for the district to capture the increased property value on its 2025 tax levy.

• The board directed staff to solicit bids for the former Monee Education Center for a third time.

CRETE — The Crete-Monee School District 201-U Board of Education is closely monitoring the status of an expired tax incentive district in Monee, concerned that a delay by the village could impact its future tax revenue.

At the August 12 meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Jason Okrasinski reported that TIF District 3 in Monee has statutorily expired. However, for the district to benefit from the increased property values on the 2025 tax levy, the Village of Monee must pass an ordinance dissolving the TIF and file it with Will County by November 1.

Okrasinski expressed concern that the village may delay the ordinance while it considers moving some properties from TIF 3 into other TIF districts. “That led into a bigger discussion about moving one property from TIF 3… to TIF 5,” he said of a recent meeting with village officials.

District legal counsel explained that if the village fails to act, the district’s recourse would be to file a lawsuit to compel the action.

Separately, the board addressed the future of the former Monee Education Center. After two previous rounds of bidding, the district has received a new letter of interest from a private party. Because the interested party is not a governmental entity, state law requires the district to go through a public bidding process. The board directed the administration to issue a new request for bids for the property, using the same minimum price of $553,500, which is 90% of its last appraised value of $615,000.