Is Emanuel building a loophole into his gigantic tax hike? ( Chicago )

Is Mayor Rahm Emanuel preparing to exempt some homeowners from his big new property tax?

A series of fascinating signals is emanating from City Hall that suggest, to ease passage of his $500 million plan through the City Council, the mayor indeed is preparing a plan—being dubbed internally the "bungalow belt exemption"—to give a break to owners of middle-income residences.

No figures are available as to exactly who would be covered. The Emanuel administration is in high message-control mode since word of the pending tax hike leaked out earlier in the week, with the mayor apparently trying to float ideas without formally committing himself.

But the the idea of a special tax break to shelter middle-class voters from the full impact of the biggest property tax increase in Chicago history has been around for many months, even if it risks shifting more of the tax burden to businesses.

Business groups, which already face at least an 11 percent increase in their property tax bills, would have to make up any difference and might balk.

"We don't need any more homestead exemptions in Cook County or Illinois," Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said. "It's not in Chicago's advantage to push even farther the disparity" between business property, now taxed at 25 percent of its market value, and homes, which pay based on a more modest 10 percent standard. "The solution to Chicago's long-term problems is growing and attracting business,"

Giant sucking sound???,,Rahm wants to suck $500 million out of the Chicago economy.

As is true of most cities, there are many gleaming office parks in Chicago suburbs. How many companies really need to be located in the Loop, or elsewhere within Chicago’s city limits? Could this tax be the last straw??? How will Rahm stop companies from moving out of the city????

The city is well on it’s way to losing its middle-class tax base. In the 50’s, Austin was a decent area; now it’s a run-down drug market for the western burbs. In the 70’s, South Shore was upper-middle class, with a thriving Jewish community; today it’s another violent extension of the ghetto, with enough killings to warrant the monicker “Little Beirut”. In the 60’s, you could still commute via the El station in West Englewood; today you’d take your life in your hands if you tried that. In the 70’s, Auburn-Gresham was solidly middle-class and largely crime-free; nowadays it’s one the leaders in murder statistics. Uptown was livable 40 years ago; today it’s a dump, and Rogers Park is on the way as well. Pullman and Roseland were middle-class and lower middle-class in the 60’s; much of that area looks like Detroit today. Jeffrey and South Deering on the far South Side, Gage Park and Ferndale on the Southwest Side - civilized 50 years ago, they are mostly trashy today.

The deterioration of the city continues to expand South, Southwest, and Northwest (it’s already made it to the city limits due West), and as it does, the residential tax base evaporates - if cops, firemen and other city workers weren’t forced to have home addresses in the city limits, the collapse of that source of revenue would be even more rapid. All many residents need as an incentive to pull up stakes is another tax increase - it’s no wonder Rahm is trying to finesse that policy.

You’re right. Last year, I left the northwest side after 58 years, moved to the next county west and am headed out of the state in the next 5-7 years. Adios, Chicago, Cook County and the State of Illinois. Lincoln’s spinning in his grave. My family has been in Illinois and the Chicago area since the 1880’s, will only come back to visit relatives and cemeteries. All our kids left the state years ago, too. Pathetic.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.