Are Chicagoans about to be hammered by more property tax hikes? – Wirepoints
Property tax hikes are about to pile up on Chicagoans. Everyday Chicagoans and businesses are being taxed out because government officials simply won’t stop spending.
Yes, a positive story. A victory for everyday Illinoisans – Wirepoints
In a state where property taxes keep going up and up and up – and where they are already the highest in the country – Effingham voters just said enough is enough. They just successfully blocked a $57 million tax hike, but they had to rally like crazy to get the win.
New Illinois law makes it tougher for voters to block school district borrowings/tax hikes. Effingham good example. – Wirepoints
Kudos to Effingham voters for getting in front of a bad law that disenfranchises Illinois taxpayers. Signed in September 2024 by Gov. Pritzker, the new law makes it tougher for voters to stop their school districts from borrowing money. The law should be repealed.
Illinois isn’t building homes. Housing stock is up less than 1% vs. 2020, nation’s 2nd-worst performance. – Wirepoints
Illinois lawmakers continue to complain about the lack of housing, but it’s their failed policies have made Illinois a national outlier. Just 44,600 new housing units have been built since 2020 – an increase in the housing stock of less than 1%. That makes Illinois 49th in the nation when it comes to building new homes.
Illinois metro areas take the top four spots for nation’s highest property taxes. Rockford takes the crown. – Wirepoints
It should be an embarrassment for every one of our legislators and government leaders. The latest report from ATTOM Data Solutions shows that Illinois’ counties and metro areas dominate the list of the nation’s highest property tax rates. Illinois has 27 of the nation’s top 50 counties for highest property tax rates. And five of Illinois’ metro areas are in the nation’s top 10, including the four highest in the country.
One big reason your Illinois property taxes are so high. And why you should get a big refund. – Wirepoints
Too many Illinoisans have yet to connect the dots between their outrageous property taxes and the huge amount of money politicians keep pouring into K-12 education. In 2000, the state was spending $16.2 billion overall. If that had grown at the pace of inflation, today the total would be $29.5 billion. But the real number is far higher: $43.9 billion.
Nation’s highest real estate taxes: Six Illinois cities are in nation’s top 20, including the top two – Wirepoints
Illinois lawmakers refuse to do anything about the state’s punitive property taxes, so Illinoisans continue to get crushed. A recent analysis by SmartAsset, a consumer-focused financial information company, finds that six of the top 20 cities with the highest real estate taxes in the nation are located in Illinois, including the top two spots.
Chicago’s weak luxury real estate market goes beyond Ken Griffin – Wirepoints
Chicago’s top-dollar real estate market is taking a beating. Billionaire Ken Griffin was the feature of the story, taking a massive hit on the sale of one of his most valuable properties. Rampant crime, high taxes, poor schools… all are pushing wealthy Chicagoans to leave, and that’s depressing property values. But for all the attention the luxury market is
Chicago property taxes rise 3.5 times faster than inflation in last decade – Wirepoints
For a long time, the pain was felt more outside Chicago than in the city. Mayor Richard M. Daley knew to avoid the hated property tax, so he favored all kinds of other taxes and fees – a nickel and dime approach – to fund the city. But beginning with Mayor Emanuel, property taxes in the last decade have grown a whopping 3.5 times more than inflation. And that’s got Chicagoans livid and most aldermen finally pushing back.
Only half of Chicago Public Schools’ $10 billion in yearly spending makes it to the classroom – Wirepoints
Here’s one fact Chicagoans should know as the Chicago Teachers Union demands billions more for education: only half of the $10 billion spent at CPS each year makes it to classrooms and instruction.
Illinoisans should watch out for the next try at a progressive income tax on the November ballot – Wirepoints
Illinois’ Nov. 5 ballot will ask state residents this question: “Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to create an additional 3% tax on income greater than $1,000,000 for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief?” To entice more Illinoisans to support the $4.5 billion tax hike referendum – advisory only – the proposal is sugar coated with legislators saying they’ll dedicate “funds to property tax relief.”
Cook County resident, upset about Southland’s skyrocketing property taxes, says “I’m sick of petitions. I want action” – Wirepoints
It’s not hyperbolic to say that Southland property taxes have spiked. In Dixmoor, the median residential tax bill more than doubled, up 122%. That’s led to justified outrage, and Southland residents want more than just talk. “Let’s get some action. I’m tired of signing petitions.”
Mayor Johnson’s spending decisions, falling revenues mean Chicagoans likely to get hit with 2025 property tax hike – Wirepoints
Over the last four years, first Mayor Lori Lightfoot and now Mayor Brandon Johnson have committed the city’s nearly $2 billion in covid-era revenue to spending that’s now baked into the budget and difficult to unwind. But with federal covid revenues running dry, the city’s operating budget is left with a $1 billion deficit for 2025 and even bigger deficits going forward. Without major spending reforms, he’ll likely have to break his promise to Chicagoans to not raise property taxes.
Chicago’s Southland residents are irate about their property tax hikes. Wait till they see how their money is being spent. – Wirepoints
South Cook residents are right to be irate about their sky-high property tax hikes, where residents in the worst-off cities saw tax bills more than double in just one year. What’s worse is how that money is being squandered. A look at the top-paid school administrators across the Southland area shows dozens of officials getting paid big bucks to deliver distressing educational outcomes.
South and southwest Chicago suburbs to be hammered by massive property tax increases – Wirepoints
The shock will be devastating for many. In the south and southwest suburbs, the median residential bill jumped by 19.9%, to $6,117. For other south suburbs, the jump is far more.
New property tax study: Chicago’s commercial property tax rates dwarf those of other major cities – Wirepoints
Chicago has the highest effective commercial property tax rate among some of the nation’s biggest cities. Those taxes are one of several pressure points – including an ongoing crime wave, faltering public transportation, a failing school district, not to mention the continued impacts of working from home – that threaten to send the city into a downward spiral.
Don’t fall for the “progressive-income-tax-for-property-tax-relief” tax swap referendum – Wirepoints
While this new advisory referendum could be nothing more than a political distraction, it could also be that lawmakers are gauging Illinoisans’ appetite for another bite at a progressive income tax hike – this time with lower property taxes as a sweetener.
Growing property tax burdens make this state unlivable for too many Illinoisans – Wirepoints joins Tom Miller of WJPF Carbondale
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
We must focus on cutting the cost drivers of Illinois property taxes if we’re ever going to deliver relief to taxpayers – Wirepoints testifies to the IL House Revenue and Finance Committee 4.10.24
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski testified on April 10, 2024 to members of the House Revenue and Finance Committee at the invitation of Rep. Joe Sosnowski. Ted told lawmakers that the state’s property tax burden has become dire for countless Illinoisans.
Illinois property tax woes continue: ATTOM says Illinoisans pay nation’s highest rate – Wirepoints
Another tax study, another loss for Illinois taxpayers. Illinois again has the highest effective property tax rate in the nation. Not only that, five of the top 10 metro areas with the highest property tax rates in the nation are in Illinois: Rockford, Champaign-Urbana, Peoria, Springfield, and Chicago.
Property tax bills come due: Cook County residents will repeat last year’s sticker shock – Wirepoints
Elk Grove Village property tax bills grew 24% in 2023. Des Plaines’ jumped 29%. Northlake, 37%. And homeowners in Melrose Park experienced a near 50% increase. Residents across the Northwest suburbs were hit with the largest tax hike in 30 years – a consequence of Cook County’s revaluation of property values. Overall, Cook County homeowners were hit with a 7.2% increase in their FY 2022 taxes (paid in 2023), the biggest hike in 16 years.