Illinois Property Tax Freeze
May Advance
By Bob Tivnan, Chicago
Time ran out before a proposal to freeze Illinois property tax rates could be approved
by the 99th General Assembly. Supporters are hoping the measure will pass in the new
legislative session.
House Bill 6630 cleared the House on a 76-24 vote. The session ended before it could
be approved by the Senate.
ILLINOIS TURNAROUND
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A property tax rate freeze is part of Governor Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda”
for Illinois.
It sets a rate cap on all taxing bodies in the state, including home-rule units, which
would require them to ask for voter approval to receive an increase in property taxes. State law created property tax caps for certain counties under the Property
Tax Extension Limitation Law. Under PTELL, a taxing district receives a limited
inflationary increase in taxes on existing property plus any additional amount for new
construction. Thirty-nine counties, including Cook and the Collar Counties are subject
to PTELL, which limits tax growth to the lesser of 5% or the increase in the Consumer
Price Index.
“We have one of the highest property taxes in America and a property tax freeze,
where you control whether your property taxes go up or not, will help change the
system in Illinois, create jobs, and keep families from fleeing the state,” Gov. Rauner
said.
However, after the Governor’s annual State of the State address on Wednesday,
January 25, 2017, Republican Sen. Bill Bradley, of Bloomington, said “GOP senators
don’t believe a two-year property tax freeze is enough to offset other tax hikes, etc.”
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continued from page 1
TAX FREEZE PART OF A BIGGER ISSUE
This tentative and preliminary property tax freeze is just one of many structural
policy reforms the Governor has sought since taking office two years ago. The real issue
is whether the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and the Republican Governor
can approve a state budget deal. Philosophical disagreements between lawmakers and
the governor on these proposed policy changes are a major factor behind the budget
impasse that has lasted 18 months.
Gov. Rauner has said he will not entertain any tax or revenue increases without
concessions on some of his proposed reforms. However, this recent dysfunctional
discord in state government has not been without a cost. Some estimates, as reported
in the Chicago Tribune, indicate the drain is as high as $14 million a day from an
already broke state government. From the way it looks, any ultimate property tax freeze
for qualifying taxpayers may just be in one hand then out the other if other forms of
taxation are enacted to address the mounting shortfalls.
The Governor is still optimistic that a bipartisan compromise can be achieved
through the moral obligation of legislative leaders to get a balanced budget with
changes to the system (including the proposed temporary property tax freeze) to help
job creators and protect taxpayers. In his State of the State address, Rauner said, “The
people of Illinois need you (House Members and State Senators) to succeed.”
© 2017 Marvin F. Poer and Company