More Transperancy on Your Local Tax Levies

Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law a plan by State Sen. Melinda Bush to ensure news of possible tax changes are more readily accessible to the public.

“I want to express my gratitude to the Governor for his support of this bipartisan, common sense plan,” Senator Bush said. “By requiring posting notices online in addition to print advertising, we disseminate information about important tax hearings more readily, and give our residents a better opportunity to know about and register support or opposition to a proposal.”

Current truth in taxation laws require taxing bodies to post notices only in newspapers that compare existing property tax levies to their proposed levies. The new law adds a requirement to taxing districts with websites to post such notices on their webpages. “How people get information is changing - we need to make sure we are keeping up and giving people the best access to information “ said Senator Bush.

The new requirements add no additional cost to taxpayers and enables easier sharing of proposals via new media like Twitter and Facebook.

The legislation was Senate Bill 792. It will become effective Jan. 1, 2016.