Emanuel hints non-profits could be stripped of property tax exemptions

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

The arts are the heartbeat of Chicago, but they cannot be immune from financial sacrifice, Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday, hinting strongly that non-profits could be stripped of property tax exemptions to help solve the city’s financial crisis.

During the campaign, Emanuel stirred controversy with a promise to turn off the free water spigot to hospitals, churches, universities and other non-profits, a practice that one alderman estimated is costing the city $300 million-a-year.

But the call for shared sacrifice may not stop there.

During a discussion at the Goodman Theatre on Wednesday about the importance of the arts, Emanuel was asked whether he would follow the lead of other struggling big cities—by forcing non-profits to pay property taxes.

Should the institutions like University of Chicago and Northwestern pay their "fair share"?