Task Force on Property Taxes Delivers Report

BY PETER HANCOCK CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS

A task force formed to study ways to reduce property tax burden on Illinois residents is calling for consolidation of school districts and other local units of government and a boost in the state's share of funding for K-12 education.

Those and other recommendations are part of a draft report circulated among the 88-member Property Tax Relief Task Force that state lawmakers formed during the 2019 session. A final report is expected to be released before the 2020 legislative session begins January 28.

The bill creating the task force was part of a package of legislation also including a proposed constitutional amendment to allow for a graduated income tax. While the draft report does not mention the proposed amendment, which will appear on the November general election ballot, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said that he wants at least some of the new income tax revenue to be used for property tax relief  if voters approve the amendment.

The report notes that property ownership today is no longer the indicator of wealth and ability to pay that is was earlier in Illinois' history. The document notes that local goverments in Illinois, school districts in particular, rely more heavily on property tax revenue than in other states. Local property taxes account for two-thirds of all funding for public schools in Illinois, while state funding accounts for only about 26%.

The report argues the property tax system should be reformed on several levels, including how property tax values are determined, consolidating townships and other local units of government, and reducing or eliminating some property tax exemptions.

Addressing the issue of education funding, though, would likely have the biggest impact because school taxes make up the bulk of most people's property tax bills.