Illinois Property Tax Increase Cap Introduced In State Senate

SPRINGFIELD, IL – With Illinois property taxes already the second highest in the nation, many suburban home and business owners have faced an additional burden from steep tax hikes driven by suburban municipal spending.

Last month, Democratic State Senator Julie Morrison, of Deerfield, introduced two new bills to ease that burden by reining in property taxes. She said the rise in property taxes continues to be among the biggest concerns she hears from residents in her district, which extends from Waukegan to Wheeling.

“Last fall, I had several constituents reach out to me with stories of dramatic property assessment increases in just one year,” Morrison said. “For some homeowners, their values had jumped 30 and 40 percent without any justifiable reason for the sharp increase. This volatility year after year needs to stop.”

Morrison's Senate Bill 686 would cap increases in annual property assessments to 20 percent, and a separate bill, Senate Bill 609, would freeze property value when an appeal has been pending before the appeals board for more than two years.

“The property tax appeal process is a burden for many homeowners, as they are forced to appeal every year and wait sometimes many years for a decision,” Morrison said. “Homeowners should not have to appeal their property taxes every year.”

Lake County's average property tax rate is 3.3 percent, roughly twice the national average, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis.