A Tax Fallacy In La Grange – And Elsewhere

LA GRANGE, IL – Residents often believe that much of their property taxes go to municipal governments. That's not true.

The misconception was aired at Monday's La Grange Village Board meeting.

During public comments, a resident questioned why the village failed to take care of flooding in his neighborhood when he paid $7,000 a year in property taxes. Residents on each side of his block, he said, forked over a combined $100,000 in such taxes.

"It's a joke," the resident said.

However, only a small part of property taxes goes to municipal governments. Schools typically take up the overwhelming majority of the bills.

At the meeting, Trustee Lou Gale pointed out these facts.

"I want everyone to look at their property tax bill and realize 10 cents of every dollar comes to this village," he said.

Municipalities get much of their money from other sources – sales taxes, state income taxes, fines and fees.

"I think we do a great job in the village using what we've got," Gale said.