Not even 15 minutes into the workshop on property taxes, a man in the back of the room could contain himself no longer. “We cannot continue to pay at this rate,” he proclaimed, his voice cracking as he interrupted a local alderman’s opening remarks.
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How much of a revolt may depend on the sophistication of the peasantry. Assessments on the north side are up as much as 50 percent. But an assessment alone won’t tell you what your property taxes are going to be. To figure that out you need to multiply your property’s assessed value by the “state equalizer” (a figure devised by the Illinois Department of Revenue to even out assessments across the state), then subtract next year’s home owner’s exemption of $4,500, then multiply that total by the tax rate. Using this year’s equalizer and tax rate (both vary annually), you can get at least a rough idea of what you’ll be asked to cough up next year.
For example, the assessable value of my north-side house rose from $44,500 in 2003 to $55,400 this year. Multiply that by the current state equalizer of 2.5757, subtract the home owner’s exemption, and multiply that by the tax rate of 6.28 percent, and it looks like I’ll be liable for $8,678 in property taxes, up $2,731–an increase of 46 percent–from this year. “Look at your income. Has it gone up 46 percent? I doubt it,” says state rep John Fritchey, whose north-side district covers parts of Lakeview Township. “It’s simple math–we have a tax that’s rising faster than our ability to pay it.”
The bill was not without flaws. As even Fritchey admits, one of its major weaknesses was that it offered no relief for commercial or industrial property owners, who are also under siege from rising property taxes. Many business groups opposed it on the grounds that it would force commercial property taxes up.
“I wouldn’t wait for a miracle,” remarked Houlihan’s aide as he handed me a tax-appeal form. “I’d file your appeal now.”
