Opportunity Zones without Opportunity? A Forensic Look at Illinois OZ Development
When Congress created Opportunity Zones in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the promise was expansive and morally resonant: steer private capital into distressed communities, spark economic revival, and allow long-neglected neighborhoods to share in national growth. Investors would receive generous tax incentives; residents would receive jobs, services, and durable prosperity. It was framed as market logic with a conscience. Nearly a decade later, the results in Illinois—particularly on Chicago’s South Side—tell a far more ambiguous story. Opportunity Zones, or OZs, were intentionally broad. Governors selected qualifying census tracts based largely on income thresholds, and Illinois designated more than 300 zones statewide. In theory, this flexibility allowed capital to flow where it was most needed. In practice, it allowed capital to flow where it was most convenient. Nowhere is that tension clearer than in Chicago’s South Side, where billions in investment have arr...