Back in November, when he was looking to build support for his budget, Mayor Daley promised voters he’d be on their side come spring, fighting in Springfield to extend the so-called cap on rising property taxes. But when the vote came on May 3, Daley was in the Middle East, far from the legislative fray and of no help in defending the bill, which was soundly defeated. Meanwhile, house speaker Michael Madigan voted for the measure while playing a passive role in its defeat.
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Of course, your home’s value doesn’t remain the same year after year. Every three years Houlihan’s number crunchers reassess property values by reviewing property sales throughout the county. If they determine that your property has doubled in value, from $100,000 to $200,000, you’ll wind up paying $12,277 in taxes, a 104 percent increase.
In a sneaky sort of way, reassessment helps elected officials like Daley and the city council pretend they’re keeping taxes down: the tax rate stays roughly the same year after year, while rising assessments do the dirty work of making sure you pay more. In its last budget statement, for instance, the city bragged that “the 2006 budget contains no increase in the property tax for the third year in a row. Since 1989, Mayor Daley has held any increase in city property taxes to an average of about one percent a year, which is well below the rate of inflation. Holding the line on property taxes increases government efficiency and keeps Chicago neighborhoods affordable for residents.” In reality, property taxes have gone up dramatically since 1989, one reason many longtime residents in gentrifying neighborhoods have been forced to leave their homes.
Publicly, Madigan, who controls the house, was silent on the bill as it came up for a vote, offering neither support nor opposition. Daley likewise took no stand in the debate. In the absence of strong leadership from Daley or Madigan, reps were free to vote as they pleased, and the measure fell far short of the 60 votes it needed for passage (there were 37 votes for, 69 against, and 6 votes of present). Downstate reps, both Democrats and Republicans, largely voted against it, suspicious of any proposal that would offer tax breaks for Chicago. State rep Dan Burke, the brother of 14th Ward alderman Ed Burke, voted against it. And none of the city’s black state reps, who for the most part represent impoverished communities on the south and west sides, voted for it.
Fritchey predicts the bill will pass in November’s veto session. And Head vows to keep the heat on. “We’re going to have a rolling revolt,” she says. “As assessment notices come out, we will ask people to make copies and send them to their elected officials, including the mayor, the aldermen, and the state reps. We’ll keep up the pressure all summer long.”
