No. 2 no more: Illinois property taxes rank highest in U.S. – Illinois Policy

"Property taxes are based on the idea that the people paying benefit from the services the taxes go to fund. Yet nearly 3-in-5 Illinoisans feel as if the value of public services they receive is not worth their high property taxes. ... The disparity between taxes and services received stems from pension spending crowding out other essential services. In addition to limiting funding for key services, pensions are the leading force for driving up property taxes."
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9mm
10 months ago

If anyone thinks adopting a “hold harmless” pension policy will translate to lower property taxes is imo delusional. Those paying property taxes can think relief is just around the corner, while Springfield will simply look towards filling those current approved yet unfunded line items.

earthling
10 months ago

i don’t think many people would be upset if we got what we are paying for in regards to high property taxes but this is obviously not the case. since around 80% of PT goes to schools, they are where the vast majority of problems lie. i mean, aside from far too generous pensions, why does a PE, DE or HE teacher even need an MA/PHD? the fact that teachers in these subjects make the same as AP calc/phys/chem teachers do shows how truly broken the education system in the US is. funding schools on PT is like going to… Read more »

Bob Anderson
10 months ago

No surprise here, Illinois has 8,529 units of local to fund, 46 states have less than 2,600 to fund. Put pressure on the governor and members of the of the General Assembly to support local government consolidation/elimination!!!

Riverbender
10 months ago

Illinois voters, according to the article, feel that the services that they need is not worth the taxes they pay. None the less every election there are no rallying cries for lower taxes but rather what new spending programs can be granted by the various candidates. Why blame the politicians when the decisions are made by the people that elect them?

ProzacPlease
10 months ago
Reply to  Riverbender

We have always elected federal, state, and local representatives. There is nothing new about elections and voting.

Nor is there anything new about human nature. People have always preferred to have someone else pay, whenever possible.

So how have we arrived at the current situation, where the state is ruled by one party that is hell bent on extracting every last dollar from the taxpayers to benefit their supporters?

What’s new that got us into this mess? Any ideas? Citing “the voters” that have always existed has no explanatory power.

What’s new is the power of public employee unions.

Last edited 10 months ago by ProzacPlease
Riverbender
10 months ago
Reply to  ProzacPlease

Well I understand the gerrymandering thing quite well but that doesn’t apply to the Governorship.
The public employees do get out and vote it is the individuals that don’t vote is where I see an issue. The public employees could be outvoted but in typical Illinois style most voters simply don’t care what happens thereby actually backing the way the public employees vote on a regular basis

ProzacPlease
10 months ago
Reply to  Riverbender

https://www.lib.niu.edu/1991/ii9103171x.jpg

Interesting. Voter participation took a nosedive when gubernatorial elections were “decoupled” from Presidential elections, and held in off years. The change was a part of the new IL Constitution of 1970. The same one that gave public employees an unlimited lien on taxpayers.

Riverbender
10 months ago
Reply to  ProzacPlease

Something worth considering is that based upon the outcomes of the last
Con-Con do we really want to risk ever having one again?

Leaving Soon, just not soon enough
10 months ago

No pot to piss in or the change of a nickel. Sorry state of Illinois. What do Pensions and cancer have in common? They both will eventually Kill you.

mqyl
10 months ago

That sucks.

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