Hefty Tax Hike For Western Springs Residents

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs residents should expect a big tax increase next year.

The village of Western Springs is poised to raise its tax levy by 4 percent. And Lyons Township High School and Western Springs School District 101 are set to hike theirs by 5 percent.

A median-priced house in Western Springs house is about $650,000. The property tax bill for such a house last year was $13,000. The total tax bill for that house will go up by at least $548 next year, based on the latest numbers. That includes $460 for the school and $88 for the village.

That's not even counting what the other taxing bodies will do. Those entities include Cook County, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Thomas Ford Memorial Library, Lyons Township and the Western Springs Park District.

Last year, the schools made up 71 percent of the property tax bill, while the village was at 12 percent. All the other bodies made up a combined 17 percent of the bill.

Tax bills are rising so much because government bodies can increase levies to the rate of inflation, up to 5 percent. In the last couple of years, inflation has well exceeded 5 percent.

It's hard to predict the exact effects of a tax levy increase on a particular tax bill. That's because the county's assessments of property values play a role. If one home's assessed value goes down relative to others, then other property taxpayers will pick up the slack.

Assessments determine a property owner's share of the tax burden.