cook countyrecords

Public money · Park Ridge

Special service areas the City used to pay for alley paving

AI-assisted researchHow this was researched and checked

From February 22, 2022 the City used special service areas so that owners along each green alley would pay half of its paving cost through a special tax: 9 areas were proposed, 5 were established and 4 were not. Staff estimates for the established areas total $2,243,433, with owner shares of $1,121,718. The Council approved special tax rolls for the first two areas each December from December 19, 2022 and the first rolls for two later areas on December 15, 2025. On February 3, 2020 it had ended 17 dormant alley-paving areas from an earlier program.

Why this connection matters

A special service area adds a separate property tax on the parcels inside it. In these records the City used such areas to charge owners along an alley half of its paving cost, so they show which areas were taxed, at what rates, for what estimated costs and how the Council voted.

Research as of · 10 independent sources of evidence.

What changed, and when did it take effect?

  1. Source record · Feb 3, 2020

    Older alley-paving areas were retired

    On February 3, 2020, the City Council approved the final reading of an ordinance terminating Special Service Areas No. 86 through No. 96 and No. 98 through No. 103 on a vote of 7–0; the draft ordinance made it effective for the 2019 tax year. The Committee of the Whole had approved the first reading on January 27, 2020 by 6–1. Staff reported that the areas, created between 2006 and 2008 to pave alleys, had been dormant for five years or more, that Cook County requires ending them by ordinance, and that their fund balances totaled $184,945.36. A budget amendment on the consent agenda of May 4, 2020, whose motion carried 7–0, closed the balances into the General Fund for a total of $182,387, which differs from that total.

    • p. 2 · Staff memo of A. Approve the final reading of an Ordinance terminating [name withheld] numbers 86-96 and 98-103; and B. Approve the closure of [name withheld] 686-696 and 698-6103, City Council, Feb 3 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve a budget amendment for the closure of Special Service Area Funds 686-696 and 698-6103 for Special Service Areas 86-96 and 98-103 respectively, City Council, May 4 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2020-05-04, City Council, May 4 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Committee of the Whole minutes, 2020-01-27, Committee of the Whole, Jan 27 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of Committee of the Whole minutes, 2020-01-27, Committee of the Whole, Jan 27 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Staff memo of A. Approve the final reading of an Ordinance terminating [name withheld] numbers 86-96 and 98-103; and B. Approve the closure of [name withheld] 686-696 and 698-6103, City Council, Feb 3 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2020-02-03, City Council, Feb 3 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of A. Approve the final reading of an Ordinance terminating [name withheld] numbers 86-96 and 98-103; and B. Approve the closure of [name withheld] 686-696 and 698-6103, City Council, Feb 3 2020. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 15 sources

  2. Source record · Aug 12, 2019

    A green alley pilot to be paid half by the owners

    Approved committee minutes of August 12, 2019 record a fiscal year budget of $800,000 for a green alley pilot program, based on an even split with $400,000 to come from a special service area, and approved Council minutes of October 21, 2019 record a green alley lottery. Later staff memos say staff were directed in 2020 to carry out the pilot, with two alleys picked by lottery to be paved with green infrastructure and each paid half by the City and half by the owners. The first two areas were Special Service Area No. 22-104 and Special Service Area No. 22-105, with engineering and construction estimated at $358,000 and $353,000 and owner shares of $179,000 and $176,500.

    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-105: Gillick/Belle Plaine and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Committee of the Whole minutes, 2019-08-12, Committee of the Whole, Aug 12 2019. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent (Memorandum), City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2019-10-21, City Council, Oct 21 2019. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-105: Gillick/Belle Plaine and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2019-10-21, City Council, Oct 21 2019. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 10 sources

  3. Source record · Jul 5, 2022

    The first two areas were proposed, heard and established

    The City Council approved both proposing ordinances on its consent agenda on February 22, 2022, in a consent vote of 7–0, and the public hearings were held at the Committee of the Whole on April 25, 2022. On July 5, 2022 the Council approved both establishing ordinances on its consent agenda, whose motion carried 6–0; the draft establishing ordinance for Special Service Area No. 22-104 recites that no objection petition was received. The special tax was capped at 1.275 per $100 of equalized assessed value for Special Service Area No. 22-104 and 0.989 per $100 of equalized assessed value for Special Service Area No. 22-105, with first-year rates of 1.109 per $100 of equalized assessed value and 0.860 per $100 of equalized assessed value. The construction contract for both alleys, approved by omnibus vote on August 1, 2022, was $747,424, more than the two staff estimates for engineering and construction combined.

    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent (Memorandum), City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-02-22, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-02-22, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-08-01, City Council, Aug 1 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-07-05, City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-02-22, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-105: Gillick/Belle Plaine and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 6 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-07-05, City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 24 sources

  4. Source record · Dec 19, 2022

    Special tax rolls for the first two areas

    The Council approved the first special tax rolls for Special Service Area No. 22-104 and Special Service Area No. 22-105 on its consent agenda on December 19, 2022, stated as rates of 1.109 per $100 of equalized assessed valuation and 0.860 per $100 of equalized assessed valuation. It approved the next rolls on December 4, 2023 by a roll call vote of 6–0, and later ones on its consent agenda on December 16, 2024 and December 15, 2025, in consent votes of 6–0 and 7–0; the approved minutes list each of these later rolls with its dollar amount.

    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-12-19, City Council, Dec 19 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-12-19, City Council, Dec 19 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2024-12-16, City Council, Dec 16 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2023-12-04, City Council, Dec 4 2023. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2023-12-04, City Council, Dec 4 2023. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-12-15, City Council, Dec 15 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of Ordinances for the 2022 Property Tax Levy, City Council, Dec 19 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2024-12-16, City Council, Dec 16 2024. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 18 sources

  5. Source record · Jul 15, 2024

    Two areas proposed next were not established

    After a lottery in 2023, staff proposed Special Service Area No. 23-106 and Special Service Area No. 23-107, with engineering and construction estimated at $498,320 and $357,200 and owner shares of $249,160 and $178,600. Staff reported the proposing ordinances approved on February 5, 2024 and the hearings held on April 15, 2024. Committee minutes record staff reporting that objection petitions were received but did not meet statutory requirements, so both areas would come back for establishment on July 15, 2024. On July 15, 2024 the first reading for Special Service Area No. 23-106 failed with no ayes. For Special Service Area No. 23-107, the approved minutes print a first-reading roll call with more nays than ayes but no result line, and no later reading appears; a later memo says the first two alleys picked were not built.

    • p. 1 · Agenda of City Council agenda, 2024-07-15, City Council, Jul 15 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 23-106: Greenwood/Chester, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 5 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 7 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2024-07-15, City Council, Jul 15 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the First Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 23-107: Western/Aldine (Memorandum), City Council, Jul 15 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 23-107: Western/Aldine, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 5 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-108: Garden/Des Plaines, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2024-07-15, City Council, Jul 15 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Agenda of Committee of the Whole agenda, 2024-04-15, Committee of the Whole, Apr 15 2024. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 15 sources

  6. Source record · Feb 18, 2025

    Four areas proposed on divided votes

    On February 18, 2025 the Council approved ordinances proposing Special Service Area No. 25-108, Special Service Area No. 25-109, Special Service Area No. 25-110 and Special Service Area No. 25-111. Each of the four motions is recorded as carried 4–3, and each of the four roll calls lists the same member among both the ayes and the nays while printing counts that match that result. Staff estimated engineering and construction at $475,825, $365,325, $379,025 and $549,125, with half of each to be paid by the owners. The hearings on all four were on the Committee of the Whole agenda for April 21, 2025.

    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-111: Belle Plaine/Stewart, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Agenda of Committee of the Whole agenda, 2025-04-21, Committee of the Whole, Apr 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-109: Talcott Rd./Talcott Pl., and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Agenda of Committee of the Whole agenda, 2025-04-21, Committee of the Whole, Apr 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-18, City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 6 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-18, City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Agenda of Committee of the Whole agenda, 2025-04-21, Committee of the Whole, Apr 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Agenda of Committee of the Whole agenda, 2025-04-21, Committee of the Whole, Apr 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 22 sources

  7. Source record · Jul 21, 2025

    Two of the four were established

    Committee minutes record staff saying, before the objection deadline of June 21, 2025, that two objections had been received and that only alleys without valid objections would come forward. The Council established Special Service Area No. 25-108 and Special Service Area No. 25-111 on its consent agenda on July 21, 2025, in a consent vote of 7–0; staff reported the hearings held on April 21, 2025 with no objection petition for either, and later tax roll ordinances cite them as Ordinance No. 2025-50 and Ordinance No. 2025-51. These records contain no establishing ordinance for Special Service Area No. 25-109 or Special Service Area No. 25-110.

    • p. 2 · Staff memo of Approve the First Reading of 2025 Property Tax Levy Ordinances (Memorandum), Committee of the Whole, Dec 1 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of Committee of the Whole minutes, 2025-06-16, Committee of the Whole, Jun 16 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Staff memo of Approve the First Reading of 2025 Property Tax Levy Ordinances (Memorandum), Committee of the Whole, Dec 1 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance establishing Special Service Area No. 25-108: Garden/Des Plaines (Memorandum), City Council, Jul 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-07-21, City Council, Jul 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve a contract for the Green Alley Project with Acura, Inc. in the amount of $799,342.00 (Memorandum), City Council, Aug 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-07-21, City Council, Jul 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-07-21, City Council, Jul 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 12 sources

  8. Source record · Aug 18, 2025

    Costs and first tax rolls for the pair established in that round

    For Special Service Area No. 25-108 and Special Service Area No. 25-111, staff estimates carried owner shares of $237,913 and $274,563, caps of 1.794 per $100 of equalized assessed value and 1.233 per $100 of equalized assessed value, and first-year rates of 1.560 per $100 of equalized assessed value and 1.072 per $100 of equalized assessed value. On August 18, 2025 the Council approved a construction contract for both alleys of $799,342 on its consent agenda, in a consent vote of 6–0; staff's memo on the contract said owners' costs were expected to come in below the mailed estimates and that each owner's final cost would follow the completed construction cost. On December 15, 2025 the Council approved the first special tax rolls for both areas on its consent agenda, in a consent vote of 7–0.

    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-111: Belle Plaine/Stewart, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-08-18, City Council, Aug 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-08-18, City Council, Aug 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-12-15, City Council, Dec 15 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-108: Garden/Des Plaines, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-108: Garden/Des Plaines, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-108: Garden/Des Plaines, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-111: Belle Plaine/Stewart, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 17 sources

  9. Source record · Sep 8, 2026

    The newest area, established after a hearing without objection

    Staff proposed Special Service Area No. 26-112 as the last of the eight alleys picked in the 2023 lottery, with engineering and construction estimated at $507,483, an owner share of $253,742 and a cap of 1.806 per $100 of equalized assessed value. The Council approved the proposing ordinance by omnibus vote on April 6, 2026; staff reported the hearing held on June 15, 2026 with no objection petition filed; the Committee of the Whole approved the item on August 17, 2026 by 7–0; and the Council approved the establishing ordinance on its consent agenda on September 8, 2026, in a consent vote of 7–0. One of the eight alleys picked in that lottery never came forward as a proposed area in these records.

    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 26-112: Washington/Harrison, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Apr 6 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 26-112: Washington/Harrison, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Apr 6 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2026-09-08, City Council, Sep 8 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2026-09-08, City Council, Sep 8 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 26-112: Washington/Harrison, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Apr 6 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 26-112: Washington/Harrison (Memorandum), City Council, Sep 8 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 26-112: Washington/Harrison, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Apr 6 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2026-04-06, City Council, Apr 6 2026. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 12 sources

  10. Source record · Dec 15, 2025

    What the City reported receiving from the first two areas

    The City's budget book presented at the public hearing on December 15, 2025 reports property tax receipts for Special Service Area No. 22-104 of $36,909 and then $35,512, and for Special Service Area No. 22-105 of $35,228 and then $35,041, in the two fiscal years it shows as actual. These records show no receipts for the later areas, whose first rolls were approved at that meeting or do not yet appear.

    • p. 125 · Staff memo of Public Hearing for Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, City Council, Dec 15 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-12-15, City Council, Dec 15 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-105: Gillick/Belle Plaine and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 124 · Staff memo of Public Hearing for Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, City Council, Dec 15 2025. Open the quote and source.

  11. Calculation

    Totals across the records

    Across these records, 9 green alley areas were proposed and 5 were established, while 4 have no establishing ordinance in these records. Staff estimates of engineering and construction for the established areas total $2,243,433, of which the owners' shares total $1,121,718; the estimates were made before bidding, and staff said each owner's final cost would follow the completed construction cost.

    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-111: Belle Plaine/Stewart, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 26-112: Washington/Harrison, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Apr 6 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 23-106: Greenwood/Chester, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum), City Council, Feb 5 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-105: Gillick/Belle Plaine and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 6 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-07-05, City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-07-21, City Council, Jul 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 6 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-07-05, City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 20 sources

  12. Open question

    Points the records do not settle

    Tax roll ordinances for both early areas say they were established under ordinances adopted on February 22, 2022, the date the proposing ordinances were approved, while the minutes and a staff memo place establishment on July 5, 2022. In all four roll calls of February 18, 2025 the minutes list one member among both the ayes and the nays, though the printed counts match the stated results. Staff memos date the direction to carry out the pilot to 2020, while approved committee minutes of August 12, 2019 show it already in that fiscal year's budget and approved Council minutes of October 21, 2019 record a green alley lottery. The budget amendment closing the terminated funds used $182,387, not the $184,945.36 listed at termination.

    • p. 2 · Staff memo of Approve the First Reading of 2025 Property Tax Levy Ordinances (Memorandum), Committee of the Whole, Dec 1 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve a budget amendment for the closure of Special Service Area Funds 686-696 and 698-6103 for Special Service Areas 86-96 and 98-103 respectively, City Council, May 4 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-02-22, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 6 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-18, City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of A. Approve the final reading of an Ordinance terminating [name withheld] numbers 86-96 and 98-103; and B. Approve the closure of [name withheld] 686-696 and 698-6103, City Council, Feb 3 2020. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-18, City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent (Memorandum), City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of Ordinances for the 2022 Property Tax Levy, City Council, Dec 19 2022. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 17 sources

What was requested, recommended, approved, contracted, reported paid and completed?

Furthest stage the records establish: Approved.

Green alley areas established
5
Count of the areas whose establishing ordinances the City Council approved in these records.
Calculation
Green alley areas proposed
9
Count of the areas staff proposed for proposing ordinances in these records.
Calculation
Dormant alley areas terminated
17
Count of the areas listed in the termination ordinance adopted on February 3, 2020.
Calculation
Remaining balance of the terminated areas' funds
$184,945.36
Total fund balance listed in the staff memo for the termination; a later budget amendment closed the funds for $182,387.
Source record
Estimated owner shares of the established areas
$1,121,718
Sum of the owners' halves of staff estimates for the established areas, made before bidding.
Calculation
Proposed areas not established
4
Count of proposed areas with no establishing ordinance in these records.
Calculation
Estimated cost of the established areas
$2,243,433
Sum of staff estimates of engineering and construction for the established areas.
Calculation

Which parcels, agencies, businesses and projects are explicitly connected?

Read the original sources

  1. 1.Approve the First Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 23-106: Greenwood/Chester (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  2. 2.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance establishing Special Service Area No. 25-111: Belle Plaine/Stewart (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  3. 3.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 23-107: Western/Aldine, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  4. 4.Approve the Final Reading of Ordinances for the 2022 Property Tax Levy

    City of Park Ridge

  5. 5.Committee of the Whole minutes, 2022-04-25

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2022-05-17

  6. 6.Approve the First Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 23-107: Western/Aldine (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  7. 7.Approve a budget amendment for the closure of Special Service Area Funds 686-696 and 698-6103 for Special Service Areas 86-96 and 98-103 respectively

    City of Park Ridge

  8. 8.City Council minutes, 2022-07-05

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2022-07-19

  9. 9.Approve the First Reading of 2025 Property Tax Levy Ordinances (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  10. 10.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-108: Garden/Des Plaines, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  11. 11.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-111: Belle Plaine/Stewart, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  12. 12.City Council minutes, 2022-02-22

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2022-03-08

  13. 13.Committee of the Whole minutes, 2020-01-27

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2020-03-06

  14. 14.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance establishing Special Service Area No. 25-108: Garden/Des Plaines (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  15. 15.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 26-112: Washington/Harrison (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  16. 16.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 23-106: Greenwood/Chester, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  17. 17.City Council minutes, 2026-09-08

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2026-09-22

  18. 18.Committee of the Whole minutes, 2024-04-15

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2026-09-03

  19. 19.Committee of the Whole minutes, 2025-06-16

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-07-08

  20. 20.Committee of the Whole minutes, 2025-04-21

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-05-14

  21. 21.Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving

    City of Park Ridge

  22. 22.City Council minutes, 2025-08-18

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-09-04

  23. 23.Approve a contract for the Green Alley Project with Acura, Inc. in the amount of $799,342.00 (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  24. 24.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  25. 25.Approve the First Reading of 2025 Property Tax Levy Ordinances (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  26. 26.Approve the Contract for the Green Alley Construction Project, PW-22-15, with Martam Construction, Inc. in the amount of $747,424.00.

    City of Park Ridge

  27. 27.City Council minutes, 2023-12-04

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-01-04

  28. 28.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-110: Prairie/Crescent, and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  29. 29.Committee of the Whole minutes, 2024-07-01

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-07-19

  30. 30.City Council minutes, 2026-04-06

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2026-04-21

  31. 31.City Council minutes, 2020-02-03

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2020-02-19

  32. 32.City Council minutes, 2022-08-01

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2022-08-19

  33. 33.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance proposing the establishment of Special Service Area No. 25-109: Talcott Rd./Talcott Pl., and providing for a Public Hearing date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  34. 34.A. Approve the final reading of an Ordinance terminating [name withheld] numbers 86-96 and 98-103; and B. Approve the closure of [name withheld] 686-696 and 698-6103

    City of Park Ridge

  35. 35.Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-105: Gillick/Belle Plaine and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving

    City of Park Ridge

  36. 36.Approve the First Reading of 2025 Property Tax Levy Ordinances (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  37. 37.City Council minutes, 2025-02-18

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-03-04

  38. 38.City Council minutes, 2019-10-21

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2019-11-05

  39. 39.City Council minutes, 2022-12-19

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2023-01-10

  40. 40.City Council minutes, 2020-05-04

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2020-05-19

  41. 41.City Council minutes, 2025-12-15

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2026-01-06

  42. 42.Committee of the Whole agenda, 2025-04-21

    City of Park Ridge

  43. 43.Committee of the Whole minutes, 2019-08-12

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2019-09-04

  44. 44.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Special Service Area No. 22-105: Gillick/Belle Plaine (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  45. 45.City Council agenda, 2024-07-15

    City of Park Ridge

  46. 46.City Council agenda, 2020-05-04

    City of Park Ridge

  47. 47.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 26-112: Washington/Harrison, and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  48. 48.City Council minutes, 2025-07-21

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-08-05

  49. 49.City Council minutes, 2024-07-15

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-08-20

  50. 50.City Council minutes, 2024-12-16

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-01-29

  51. 51.Committee of the Whole agenda, 2024-04-15

    City of Park Ridge

  52. 52.Public Hearing for Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

    City of Park Ridge

  53. 53.Approve the Final Reading of Ordinances for the 2022 Property Tax Levy

    City of Park Ridge

What remains unresolved?

What the evidence does not establish

  • How much special service area tax the County extended for each area, and what the City received after the latest year its budget book shows as actual.
  • The final construction cost of each green alley and each owner's final share.
  • Why Special Service Area No. 25-109 and Special Service Area No. 25-110 were not established.
  • Whether the first reading for Special Service Area No. 23-107 was declared failed; the approved minutes print its roll call but no result line.
  • The ordinance numbers and adoption dates of the establishing ordinances approved on July 5, 2022.
  • Any special tax roll for Special Service Area No. 26-112, whose first levy falls after these records.
  • What became of the one alley picked in the 2023 lottery that never came forward as a proposed area.
  • Why the budget amendment closing the terminated funds used a different total than the balances listed at termination.

  • Cook County extension records for the City's special service areas

    They would show the special taxes actually extended and collected for each area and year.

  • Signed establishing ordinances for the first two green alley areas

    They would settle the ordinance numbers and dates that later tax roll ordinances cite differently from the minutes.

  • City Clerk determinations on objection petitions

    They would show whether qualifying petitions stopped the areas that were proposed but not established.

  • Green alley construction close-out records

    They would give the final costs that set each owner's share.

  • Special tax rolls for later levy years

    They would extend the series and show the first roll for the newest area.

  • Ballot and petition records for the alleys picked in the lottery

    They would show why one alley picked in the lottery never came forward as a proposed area.

What does the evidence suggest, and what would change it?

Every special service area the City proposed, taxed or terminated in these records served alley paving. From February 22, 2022 the Council used new areas so that owners along each green alley would pay half of its cost through special tax rolls: of 9 proposed, 5 were established and 4 were not. On February 3, 2020 it had ended 17 dormant alley areas.

Searched City Council and Committee of the Whole records from Aug 12 2019 to Sep 8 2026 (agendas, approved minutes, ordinances, staff reports).

Confidence
Medium confidence
The main decisions are quoted from approved minutes and staff memos, but the records disagree on some ordinance dates, amounts and roll calls, one first reading prints no result line, and the records show neither final costs nor most of the taxes received.

What supports it

  • Approved minutes record the termination ordinance carrying 7–0.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2020-02-03, City Council, Feb 3 2020. Open the quote and source.
  • Approved minutes of July 5, 2022 record the establishing ordinance for Special Service Area No. 22-104 as approved by the omnibus vote, with the one for Special Service Area No. 22-105 listed beside it.
    • p. 6 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-07-05, City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
  • The consent motion of July 5, 2022 carried 6–0.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2022-07-05, City Council, Jul 5 2022. Open the quote and source.
  • A later staff memo reports both early areas formally established on July 5, 2022.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Contract for the Green Alley Construction Project, PW-22-15, with Martam Construction, Inc. in the amount of $747,424.00., City Council, Aug 1 2022. Open the quote and source.
  • The consent motion that included the establishing ordinances for Special Service Area No. 25-108 and Special Service Area No. 25-111 carried 7–0.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-07-21, City Council, Jul 21 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • A staff memo reports Special Service Area No. 25-108 and Special Service Area No. 25-111 formally established on July 21, 2025.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve a contract for the Green Alley Project with Acura, Inc. in the amount of $799,342.00 (Memorandum), City Council, Aug 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • Approved minutes record the establishing ordinance for Special Service Area No. 26-112 approved by the omnibus vote.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2026-09-08, City Council, Sep 8 2026. Open the quote and source.
  • The consent motion that included the newest establishing ordinance carried 7–0.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2026-09-08, City Council, Sep 8 2026. Open the quote and source.
  • Approved minutes record a first reading of an establishing ordinance failing with no ayes.
    • p. 6 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2024-07-15, City Council, Jul 15 2024. Open the quote and source.
  • The Council approved rolls for the first two areas on December 4, 2023 by a roll call vote of 6–0.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2023-12-04, City Council, Dec 4 2023. Open the quote and source.
  • Approved minutes list the rolls of December 15, 2025, including the one for Special Service Area No. 22-104, as approved by the omnibus vote.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-12-15, City Council, Dec 15 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • Staff memos state each estimate and split it evenly between the City and the owners, such as $358,000 with an owner share of $179,000.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Final Reading of an Ordinance Proposing the Establishment of Special Service Area No. 22-104: Stewart/Crescent and Providing for a Public Hearing Date for Green Alley Paving, City Council, Feb 22 2022. Open the quote and source.

What points the other way

  • A tax roll ordinance cites the establishing ordinance for the second early area as adopted on February 22, 2022, the proposing date, while the minutes show establishment on July 5, 2022. The approval is not in doubt; the cited ordinance number and date are.
    • p. 2 · Staff memo of Approve the First Reading of 2025 Property Tax Levy Ordinances (Memorandum), Committee of the Whole, Dec 1 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • The first tax roll ordinance for the other early area likewise cites Ordinance No. 2022-07, adopted on February 22, 2022, while a staff memo reports both areas formally established on July 5, 2022.
    • p. 2 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of Ordinances for the 2022 Property Tax Levy, City Council, Dec 19 2022. Open the quote and source.
  • In all four roll calls of February 18, 2025 the minutes list one member among both the ayes and the nays; the printed counts and results agree, so this finding follows the printed counts.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-18, City Council, Feb 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • Approved committee minutes of August 12, 2019 show the pilot already in that fiscal year's budget at $800,000, and approved Council minutes of October 21, 2019 record a green alley lottery, while later staff memos say staff were directed to carry out the pilot in 2020.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Committee of the Whole minutes, 2019-08-12, Committee of the Whole, Aug 12 2019. Open the quote and source.
  • The budget amendment that closed the terminated funds into the General Fund used $182,387, not the $184,945.36 the termination memo listed.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve a budget amendment for the closure of Special Service Area Funds 686-696 and 698-6103 for Special Service Areas 86-96 and 98-103 respectively, City Council, May 4 2020. Open the quote and source.
  • Receipts the City's budget book reports for the first two areas, such as $35,512, do not match the dollar amounts of their approved rolls, so approved rolls are not the same as taxes received.
    • p. 124 · Staff memo of Public Hearing for Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, City Council, Dec 15 2025. Open the quote and source.

Assumptions

  • Items that approved minutes list as approved by the omnibus vote, or that sit in a consent list before a carried consent motion, were adopted at that meeting.
  • Staff cost figures are estimates made before bids; the construction contract for the first two alleys was above their combined estimates, the one for the later pair was below theirs, and staff said each owner's final share would follow the completed construction cost.
  • Searches for special service area terms found every such item in these records; an item recorded under other wording could be missing.

Other explanations

  • The two areas from the latest multi-area round that were not established may have been stopped by qualifying objection petitions; the records show only that two objections were received before the deadline. (still open)
  • Special Service Area No. 23-107 could have been established by an ordinance outside this collection; its first-reading roll call in the approved minutes shows more nays than ayes with no result line, and no later reading appears. (still open)
  • The City may also have created special service areas for other purposes, such as business districts; economic development documents list them as a possible tool, but none was proposed or established in these records. (ruled out by the records)
  • The staff memos may date the pilot by the City's fiscal year rather than the calendar year; the budget that included it was already in place when it was discussed on August 12, 2019. (still open)

What would change this

  • Records show an establishing ordinance for any area counted here as not established.
  • County extension records show special service area taxes that differ from the approved rolls.
  • A special service area for another purpose is found in records outside this collection.
  • Final cost records show owners' shares recalculated from contract costs rather than the staff estimates used here.

Editions and corrections

Each published change is a new edition. Corrections say what changed and why.

  1. Edition 3(current)

    Edition 3: 19 revised.

  2. Edition 2

    Edition 2: 19 revised.

  3. Edition 1

    First edition.

Decision tracker: park ridge

Editorial responsibility: Cook County Records. Source review: . Independent research; not affiliated with a government agency.

Suggested citation: Cook County Records, “Special service areas the City used to pay for alley paving,” sources reviewed 2026-09-27, source records listed on this page.

Initial permanent evidence page published September 10, 2026. Follow the dated evidence above for later additions and changes. A source-check date alone does not establish a government action or project outcome.

cook countyrecords

Independent research into local decisions and property records, with links to official municipal, county, state and federal sources. Not affiliated with any government. Estimates and unresolved questions are labeled. Park Ridge property release: refreshed 2026-10-19 · assessor records 2026-10-15 · Board decisions through 2026-06-09.