Since property taxes are a big topic, I decided to write this story about Mayor Woods and Cook County Assessor Kaegi's op-ed in the Trib explaining movements they're making collectively to address the issue.
Park Forest Mayor Joseph A. Woods, Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker, and Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi recently co-authored an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune. In this piece, they highlighted their collaborative efforts to advocate for legislation aimed at helping homeowners facing significant increases in their property taxes.
Earlier this year, the assessor's office worked with state legislators to develop a property tax relief program, which was introduced as SB1978 by Senator Patrick Joyce and HB3808 by Representative Justin Slaughter. This proposed "circuit breaker" aims to provide relief to homeowners whose tax bills have increased by more than 25 percent from one year to the next. The program seeks to address the substantial tax increases experienced in the south suburbs last summer while protecting residents from similar increases in the future.
Currently, a one-time local relief fund of $15 million has been established, offering $1,000 to eligible households. Officials argue that this is necessary to create a fairer and more sustainable tax system, especially as many residents are worried about losing their homes.
In the op-ed, Mayor Woods explained that Park Forest residents have been significantly affected by property taxes, even though the Village has not increased its budget or relied on property taxes in five of the past seven years. Instead, there has been a shift in the tax burden among different property types.
The mayor and other officials believe that implementing a state-funded circuit breaker, managed by the assessor's office, would be the first of several steps to address the disproportionate reliance on property taxes for funding public services. They noted that the state could fund a fiscally responsible circuit breaker program with approximately $200 million annually.
In the op-ed, they stated that the program could be established without adding new administrative costs, as the assessor's office already has much of the necessary infrastructure in place to administer a circuit breaker. Through an agreement with the Illinois Department of Revenue, the office has access to most of the data needed to enroll qualifying homeowners automatically.
Mayor Woods and other officials are urging the community to support this initiative. They ask homeowners to contact their local state representatives and senators and encourage them to support this bill.
To read the op-ed, click here.