Replies

This makes no sense to me—Property taxes are based on local taxation within the county of residence—not the state.

There is a lot of variation among municipalities, but paying $15,000 on a $227,000 is pretty unusual—especially for Lake County—Unless in Lake County the tax value of the house is considerably lower than the appraised value—i.e. for tax purposes house is taxed at $227,000 but on the market the house would sell for $375,000 or $400,000.

At least least for DuPage County where I live, it would not be a normal tax rate...My house is worth much more, and I am not paying $15,000 in 2016.

The majority of property tax goes to local school districts. If people think they pay too much, then they have 2 options—change school districts or vote out the spendthrift school board members and vote in some conservative taxpayers who will look for waste to cut.

Illinois has a myriad of problems, but I don’t believe the state controls local property taxes.

>> I don’t believe the state controls local property taxes. <<

I can’t speak to other states laws, but Washington State does, in fact, control property taxes through legislation on how, when, and how property is valued for the purposes of taxation because the State has to get their cut. It’s usually the largest portion of our property tax obligation, which goes into the State’s General Fund, purportedly to pay for education costs. There is a program for low income/elderly to allow some exemption from paying local levies (like school and hospital bonds), but the State’s share of the tax is rarely (if ever) exempt. I’d be shocked (shocked! I tell you) to find that Illinois doesn’t take at least half of the property tax collected, too, and you don’t do that without laws granting the State, Counties, and Cities to levy and collect taxes.