By: Diane Benjamin
Illinois is #1 in property taxes because the people elected at all levels in Illinois think government “needs” outway your right to keep the money you earned. This is the result of electing progressives or not bothering to vote at all. You get to pay for your house twice:
.
Assessed Values locally are going up again this year. This same $400,000 house could be $432,000 when you get your tax bill. Of course local governments salivate at pretending to lower taxes by passing a slightly lower rate while they still capture the gain you will never see unless you sell you home. How much lower was your tax bill last year after progressives promised to lower them if the 1% Sales Tax passed? Were your surprised they weren’t?
Taxing unrealized gains is theft.
Still voting for progressives? Still ignoring local elections? Those people made Illinois #1 because theft is required to redistribute your wealth. Progressives won, you lost.
How you can fight back: Carl Hinshaw has successfully challenged assessed values for a long time. He can teach a very limited number of people how:
As an advocate of appeals of assessments, its a nightmare and many have been deceived or randomly mis-assessed in McLean County. No one at any level can explain directly how the data and assessment data are and have been entered, calculated and derived or comparables.
Rural areas and older properties/communities find it especially hard to get answers on any of this. A run around many times even.
Also, little to no transparency in the IT partnerships, platforms, data source, data handlers, integration and calculations.
This is leaving those who dispute in a difficult situation even when they follow the process, pay for appraisals, look at comparables.
We are never told the day sources, calculations, embedded system rules or data around it all.
Having us (those disputing) pay for an appraisal and they not even share comparables is also a big issue at our expense and time. Also, if an error is found in on assessed value and you were forced to pay the larger bill to avoid penalties or further action for non payment (NO refunds).
There are business rules and data handle/use and process based issues needing examined at the county level. It is easy to get lost in the process.
Some have received relief I understand but there are bigger issues with the process, communications and platforms and data handling I fear. (Based on experience)
Thanks for always looking out for the vulnerable Taxpayers and citizens, Diane and Carl.
Many are in the dark and process can certainly be stressful. Being taxed on “unrealized gains” constantly is a whole other issue especially for those of us who have no intention of selling in McLean County.
Makes me wonder what all our tax dollars are paying for system wise.
The chart is way off for Illinois. In McLean County, a $400,000 property will yield a staggering tax liability of about $11,000 in the current tax cycle. The tax appeal process is intentionally made confusing to discourage appeals. The fault lies solely with the super-majority in Springfield who refuse any and all attempts at property tax reform in Illinois.
I don’t think the chart is way off. I think it is McLean county that is way off. Our taxes are way more than the chart yes.
If you believe that your house will not sell for the amount you are appraised at, by all means appeal! But the best use of time is to attend every school board meeting, City/Town Council meeting, McLean County Board meeting, Heartland Community College meeting, Township meeting, etc, now through December demanding that they lower their levies, or at least keep them flat. It is the LEVY that determines how much you pay in property taxes. The assessment just determines the portion of those levies that are allocated to the property owners to pay. The government bodies are in the process of determining their levies right now. Usually, the proposed levies are presented in November and the levies are voted on/approved in December. Put the pressure on now. Come May, it will be too late.
Run for office and expose the fleece before it happens!
One has to wonder how soon it will be when more people are leaving IL and IL becomes a less desirable place to own a home. It seems like now when a home is listed it is sold before the for sale sign paint dries. At that point your home becomes worth less and makes it even more difficult to look outside IL to move to. If you do find something comparable in another you almost have to clean out your bank accounts plus what you can sell it for to buy elsewhere. I guess the answer is get out of IL sooner rather than later. It might be a blessing that it burns to the ground so you can collect the insurance and move leaving an almost worthless piece of property.
Quite honestly some assessor doing a drive by assessment isn’t accurate at all. Why this has not been challenged in court is beyond me.
I agree with a comment above. The problem lies in Springfield controlled by the Democrats. They need to put a cap on what a tax body can ask for an increase mostly to reign in the school districts spending money like drunken sailors. The school districts are the number one leader causing property taxes to rise.
When did it start? Like several years ago. The people buying the houses in BN are apartment dwellers who bring in a relative with them to help them buy the house and/or co-sign on the loan. They aren’t BN natives but H1Bs, green card holders or local rural types that are sick of paying rent. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s because the local economy is raging or that BN is just one of the great places to live in the country. Ask yourself why BN is no longer building SF subdivisions
but continue to build apartments or cheap duplexes if they build new at all.