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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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What some people don’t understand is you could be paying a ridiculous 2-3 percent of your property value in PTs, yet still be under-assessed. Look at what your county says is the value of your property, and many of you will see you’re under-assessed, even though your PTs are outrageously high and out of line with the vast majority of the rest of the country. That’s because you have so many wondrous things built into your PTs, like nine-month-a-year teachers making six figures and so many State of IL retirees with six-figure pensions and free health care. Corruption takes many… Read more »
You are correct. Let’s suppose all properties are equally underassessed by 10%. That would be ‘uniform’, thus fair. Because everyone in those taxing districts pay the same “rate’, they are all paying that higher rate on uniformly ‘too-low’ assessments. (Tax bill=assessed value multiplied by tax rate). Nominal amount of tax bill is different, in that if it is too high relative to the rest of America, it still might be ‘uniform’, thus legal, and presumed to be equitable. (Tax rate=levy divided by (taxable) EAV). The only way to lower nominal tax bill for individuals is too protect assessment being too… Read more »
Revenge for leaving!
People who criticize Kaegi should do some research: Berrios his predecessor had set up a system of assessment which, based upon evidence on public record, appeared to favor political insiders over those who were not. When Kaegi raises assessments on properties which were heretofore underassessed, people should understand that these properties were being subsidized by all property owners who were paying taxes on assessments based upon fair value. Property Tax Assessment is supposed to be “Uniform”; that is, no property should get preferential treatment compared to another. Interesting to compare and contrast the apparently non-uniform assessment (90% reduction) treatment given… Read more »
We can criticize both. Berrios was a corrupt Democrat like all who preceded him. Kaegi is an incompetent woke progressive Democrat and has been far more destructive. This isn’t just about Berrios giving an insider like JB an inside deal, which was wrong and corrupt. Kaegi is about ‘equity’ and is fundamentally transforming the property tax system, as he has said that he believes, in his own words, that black and brown neighborhoods are overtaxed while white neighborhoods are undertaxed. He’s equitably redistributing taxes in a way that he sees fit. So when your tax bill goes up 40% this… Read more »
Property tax assessment is not (supposed to be) subjective. There are methods used to arrive at “the price at which willing buyer and willing seller would meet”. No matter what political rhetoric, Chief Assessor must support assessments with evidence. Property owners who dispute assessments have an appeals process available. Problem is, there is no mechanism to object to or appeal OPP (other people’s property) which may appear underassessed. Underassessment is the most damaging injustice in tax policy: it raises the tax rate. (Cook County property tax is unique in Illinois in that residential is assessed at a lower fraction of… Read more »
A thought occurred to me that assessments went up last year and now taxes. How much of the assessment is due to the skyrocketing price of lumber the last two years reflected in new construction? It cost up to $36K more to build a home because 2×4’s were over $14 and plywood depending on grade and thickness was around $111 per sheet. Now lumber prices have come back to earth approx $3.50 for a 2×4 but were assessments based on comparables that had inflated prices/new construction/recent sales or all three or just new? This increased everyone’s assessment due to a… Read more »
3 ways to assess taxable property: sales method (what are similar properties selling for in similar area), income (what sort of rental income could that property produce), and replacement cost method. The replacement cost method is least prefered by PTAB according to language in their decisions. When new homes are built, lumber costs may be factored in. But the most widely used method for residential is fair market comparison. Income method is frequently used in commercial property. Arlington Park property is a unique, special use case, so long as it is a horserace track. Now the reassessment of land value… Read more »
Would you agree that way too much emphasis is put upon the value of homes to fund local taxing bodies especially schools with no regards to one’s ability to pay? There needs to be a multi-faceted approach to fund taxing bodies. A moratorium on TIF’s for 2 years where the entire assessed value is designated to taxing bodies hopefully reducing property taxes. This will only benefit areas where home values went up not like Rockford with I think 31 Tif’s but values went nowhere. Much of the money going into TIF’s goes to well connected special interest groups for some… Read more »
I agree that Illinois TIFs are a complicated-by-design obscenity, they are used as a tool to take money from the many and give it to the few at the whim of a Mayor or influential Councilmember. There is almost no oversight, and no enforcement mechanism to achieve equitable compensation for identified corrupt acts. Property tax law seems fair, if it is uniformly applied and enforced. It is like a sales tax: you buy groceries or gas, you pay a sales tax rate on your amount of purchase. Those who buy more groceries or gas pay commensurately more sales tax; nominal… Read more »
What I don’t understand is that a higher value assessment translates into a higher tax cost for the exact same services than a lower value home across the street. This seem to be a wealth tax or an asset tax since the largest asset for many is a home. There are many homes in Rockford that pay little to no taxes and get the same services as a $200K home which pay $7,400. A $30K home with homeowners and senior deductions pays nothing yet some drive Navigators or Escalades and very few work. That was brought up at Sen Stadelman… Read more »
“a higher value assessment translates into a higher tax cost for the exact same services than a lower value home across the street. ” The higher value assessment, BY LAW, is supposed to represent a higher basis for taxation at the legal rate (just like any sales tax, use tax or income tax). You need to change the structure of tax law to change this metric. “There are many homes in Rockford that pay little to no taxes and get the same services as a $200K home which pay $7,400. A $30K home with homeowners and senior deductions pays nothing yet… Read more »
Here’s a story on property taxes. Comments are good. https://www.naturalnews.com/2023-05-03-government-theft-home-equity-rooted-in-feudalism.html
Don’t worry, the Bears will pass it onto the fans in the form of higher ticket prices, parking fees, etc. On a related note, how much longer do you think the Bears will be on FOX TV? The other major Chicago sport teams are only available on enhanced cable TV packages or enhanced streaming packages. Someone has to pay for that lifetime .240 hitter making eight figures.
Payback for defection, courtesy Preckwinkle.
Crooked Corrupt Cook County Assessor Kaegi Is Doing A Property Tax Drive-By On Bears Arlington Heights Stadium