Tell the General Assembly and Gov. Pritzker we need real tax relief
Task Forces are just Political Gimmicks
Another legislative session has wrapped up in Springfield. Still, once again, the General Assembly and Governor J.B. Pritzker have failed to deliver relief on one of the most burdensome taxes most Illinoisans face—the property tax.
Illinois’ property tax burden is a significant and growing problem. According to recent data by the Tax Foundation, Illinois's effective property tax rate is 2.08%, nearly double the national median state of Georgia at 0.92%.
This means the average Illinoisan incurs an annual property tax bill of around $5,366 on a median-value home of $258,000. If Illinois property taxes were comparable to the median state of Georgia, each household could save nearly $3,000 per year.
During Gov. Pritzker’s tenure, property taxes have skyrocketed. As of 2022, local governments in Illinois collect nearly $4.9 billion more per year than in 2018, the year before Pritzker’s inauguration. This is an increase of nearly 15% on top of what was already the second-highest property taxes in the nation.
Gov. Pritzker has repeatedly recognized a need to address the issue and even helped form the “Illinois Property Tax Relief Task Force” in 2020. Still, the task force failed to implement policy reforms to curb growing property tax burdens.
On Gov. Pritzker’s desk is another property tax task force—Senate Bill 3455—but we are skeptical this will result in the needed reforms to finally provide relief for Illinoisans. In addition to the one formed in 2020, property tax task forces were created in 1982, 1996, 1998, and 2009. None of them solved the problem.