By: Diane Benjamin
This Labor Day celebrate local governments stealing your hard earned dollars.
A home in Bloomington property tax history:
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In 10 years, 2016 to 2025, property taxes increased 47.2%.
The assessed value in 2016 was $75,995, in 2025 it was $119,493. That is an increase of 57.24%.
The left side is taxes paid in 2016. The right is the 2025 taxes. If property taxes are escrowed, current taxes increase the house payment $783 a month, not including homeowners insurance.
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Percentage increases:
District 87 – 49.95
City of Bloomington – 39.48
McLean County – 43.87
Heartland – 54.73
Bloomington library – 64.3
BNWRD – 31.76
Airport – 7.67 (After the law changed to tax the entire county)
Bloomington Township – 15.48
This is the result of citizens NOT voting in local elections. Progressives win while common sense candidates lose. It’s funny units of government without elected officials raise taxes less.
This homeowner fled to a red state. The house sold for a $410,000 when the assessed value was $358,479. I hope their real estate agent told the buyer to expect higher property taxes next year.
The house was bought in 2016 for $288,000. The owner took the 42.36% increase and ran. If you aren’t leaving Illinois, you are taxed on unrealized gains you will never see.
What’s really crazy is the 4 year increase from 2022 to 2025… 40% increase, $2,700 more paid annually, forever. And in 2026, the assessors have already said average home appreciation in McLean County will be 5-7%, which means the property taxes on that home were going up another $600 even before that home’s recent sale.
Property taxes are literally causing the housing affordability crisis. It’s the only factor of housing costs the local politicians can directly control. The supply of new housing built is largely a market/business decision, interest rates are a combination of federal reserve policy and future national growth/inflation expectations, and insurance costs are based on pooled risk of loss.
So local politicians(county, city, school): if you think there is a housing crisis, the only thing you can actually do to help in the near and long term is to LOWER property taxes.
Large scale national studies demonstrate that TIF and taxpayer funded welfare to for profit businesses have a negligible to no impact on local growth, especially when it comes to housing supply. Plus these sweetheart perks are financed by existing homeowners and businesses paying more in property taxes, in order to give the tax breaks to new commercial development (hello Rivian!).
YES!!!!!!
And this raises the cost of housing whether you are a homeowner/buying your home OR if you are renting. These tax increases are baked into your escrow payment OR your monthly rental payment.
EVERYONE is paying more for housing!!!
I just heard from a homeowner who wanted to rent from me, she told me she was going to sell her house and rent because she thought it would be cheaper. (I am encouraging her to try to keep her home!!)
There is literally no escaping these insane tax increases….if you live in Illinois!
JB promised property tax relief when first elected in 2018. Property taxes have risen 50% since then. He oversaw a total 50% raise in state lawmaker’s base salaries from $67k to $101k. Fair share? Affordability? Who is to blame? I say it is the voters in this state. Re-elect JB and if he is still around in 4 years, the tax bill on this example home will exceed $15,000. Guaranteed!
School districts promised relief if voters approved a 1% sales tax hike. They lied.
Because they are Lying Liars
Not to mention reported recently $65 billion in income left IL in his first term.
Lived here all my life. Do not have any intention of retiring here. Do not have any intention of buying a home here so that the progressive left can tax me out of my home. Going to Florida. You know what is really funny? I go to visit down there and the amount of people with a retirement pension in Illinois spend their money there. Pretty comical. NO one wants to stay here.
And Unit 5 is facing a budget shortage in 2027.
They fixed the problem with poor academic performance by lowering the grading standards.
How can these people look themselves in the mirror?
Every year is a budget shortage. Let the school closure threats begin.
Instead of closing carlock and consolidating schools, they instead decided to leave it open and build 2 new school buildings, as well as expand Towanda elementary. They literally picked the most expensive alternative they presented. “bUt mUH buDGeT!”
Keep in mind, enrollment is down over 1,000 kids since 2019, they have fewer and fewer elementary students every year, and demographics will continue to lower the demand for government education services.
All of this after raising property taxes by 40% and sales taxes by 15%.
The summary of this article below pretty much says it all.
“Schools abandoned teaching perseverance and personal responsibility, leaving graduates unprepared for jobs.”
Bye bye went reading, writing, and math to be replaced by participation trophies.
My employer has to hire in another country because what schools graduate are worthless.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/americas-massive-labor-crisis-started-classroom-not-workplace
A prime example of District 87 spending is the abomination on East Oakland Ave. No money was spared that’s apparent. Seriously why was the front drop off constuction needed? As I recall SF employees entered from the rear. What about the electronic sign near the front. That was needed because? No telling what was spent inside. Why was the playground placed near the front along a busy street?
I;ve always said if you gave a school district a billion dollars they would spend it all and ask for more.
Like the sign in front of the building on Oakland stated “your penny at work “ that is how district 87 views the thousands of dollars that you all pay in taxes, just a penny!!!
That signed triggered me every time I drove down Oakland. And for everyone’s reminder, they raised sales taxes by 15%, not “one penny”. The one penny rhetoric is also gay, it’s one extra penny on one dollar spent. When was the last time you bought anything for $1?
How long have they meaning those responsible for spending our tax dollars used the phrase “but it’s for the children “, oh you mean the children that graduated that still have trouble reading, writing,and arithmetic and this is something that has been declining for years so I really don’t think that this is for the children anymore, it’s for those that make money off from the taxpayers backs.
Sad but until voters open their eyes and work tirelessly to eliminate those that continue to make us feel guilty with the phrase “but it’s for the children “ we will continue to be fleeced. So get off your buts and vote in local elections!
Dispute your tax assessment (Commercial and residential and property & Board of Review reduces = tax spread to rest of taxpayers and locality.) assessed values are only part of the bigger issues/picture in county.
Happens in rural areas.
Poor forcasting, data handle, accounting and money movement practices but clearly accepted and pushed by all in McLean County.
Knew something was fishy when airport tax spread was allowed and pushed.
Lil Chicago operations.