If you haven’t received it yet, you will soon be receiving what is probably your most dreaded piece of mail of the year— your property tax bill.
Each year, homeowners across the state open their property tax bills with a familiar sense of dread. The numbers keep climbing, regardless of whether home values dip or the economy stalls. For many, it’s not just frustrating, it’s financially unsustainable.
Illinoisans already carry the highest overall tax burden in the country and are saddled with the second-highest property taxes in the U.S. Yet year after year, majority party Democrats in Springfield continue demanding more from taxpayers.
Many are quick to blame local governments and school districts for these tax bill increases, and while local units of government should always be searching for efficiencies and ways to control costs, if you dig a little deeper, the real culprit emerges. Illinois state government routinely passes down unfunded mandates. The Democrats who have all but destroyed this state do this every year while turning a blind eye to the fiscal realities in communities. They legislate what local governments, schools, or municipalities must do without providing a revenue stream to fund new mandates. Local governments are left scrambling to find the funds, and more often than not, the result is higher property taxes.
Take education, for example. Illinois policymakers frequently pass legislation mandating new curriculum requirements, expanded student services, or enhanced security protocols. These mandates almost never come with the funding necessary to implement them. School districts are then forced to raise local revenue to comply, usually through property taxes.
It doesn’t stop there. The Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF), created to return a share of state income taxes to local governments, is another source of strain. These funds are essential for police, fire protection, and other critical services. Yet every year, Governor JB Pritzker shortchanges municipalities by sweeping a portion of these funds into state coffers. Local governments are then forced to either cut services or raise taxes to backfill the loss.
Add to that a steady stream of new state-imposed requirements on environmental compliance, public safety, health regulations, and infrastructure. The list is endless. For large cities, meeting these mandates poses a challenge. For small towns and rural communities, they’re often crippling. What might be a minor compliance issue in a city the size of Chicago can devastate a village with a limited staff and shrinking tax base. This one-size-fits-all approach ignores the vastly different fiscal realities across Illinois. Instead of tailoring policies to reflect local capacity, the state imposes blanket mandates, then abandons local leaders to figure it out.
Republicans introduce property tax relief bills every year. These proposals seek to fund mandates, return money to local governments, and reduce burdens on taxpayers. But year after year, Democratic leadership blocks these reform efforts. Instead, they offer task forces and commissions that go nowhere and produce no reports.
If lawmakers are truly serious about property tax relief, they must address the root causes. That means ending unfunded mandates, fully funding essential programs, eliminating wasteful state spending, and giving local governments the flexibility to serve their residents. Only then will property owners experience real, sustainable property tax relief.
