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In Chicagoland's poorest suburb, just three miles from the Indiana border, property owners have discovered the most effective strategy yet for avoiding Illinois' highest-in-the-nation property taxes. Stop paying. Facing astronomical bills on real estate that's now worthless at best, Ford Heights home and business owners have literally nothing to lose by ignoring them.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Latest statistic on taxes in any country of the world https://tranio.com/articles/taxes/ I prefer to use this information when making my own opinion related to property in any country.
If the tax buyers aren’t willing to buy the properties for back taxes (which they aren’t), you really have a problem.
It’s interesting how we see blatant examples of what “the end” looks like, right in our back yard, yet no one seems to know about it. Is there no one at the state level concerned about a poor community where the entire population of that community is literally revolting and not paying their taxes? And then you have no one willing to buy the tax debt, so the property just sits there, with no resolution in sight. Because there is no money for public services, there is lawlessness, degradation of infrastructure to unsafe levels and it resembles a third world… Read more »
The taxpayers are only following the example set by our state legislators. Not enough revenue no problem. Just do not pay the state vendors. Currently $7-8 billion headed for $9-10 billion by the end of the FY. They claim everyone will get paid eventually. If you believe that then I have some GO state bonds to sell you.
The taxpayers should make the same argument.
Take a look at Ford Heights School Dist 169 payroll. Super makes base salary of $243K plus benefits. Principal $114K-Ass’t Super of Bus operations at also $114k plus 39 more. This is only administrators and teachers. There are separate service and food workers salaries. No one there probably took any pay cuts while people are losing their homes with sky high taxes and everyone gets paid no matter what.
Good. Let this be a warning to other municipalities who raise property taxes too high.