Property tax collections by local governments in Illinois increased nearly $1 billion between 2017 and 2018 even as the state lost thousands of residents over that year.
Combined, 6,042 local governments received $31.8 billion in property taxes last year, according to Illinois Department of Revenue reports. That was $944 million more than what was collected in 2017 by those agencies.
Meanwhile, the state lost 45,116 residents in 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. That increased the tax burden on the remaining population to pay for services provided by towns, schools, counties and other local governments.
Statewide, local governments combined to collect $2,496 in property taxes for every resident in 2018, up from $2,413 per person in 2017, according to a Daily Herald analysis. In Cook and the collar counties, the amount of property taxes collected per resident is even higher.
The results of the analysis highlight the number of local governments in Illinois — the most in the nation — as well as how much local governments rely on property taxes, government finance experts said. Local governments that collect property taxes also include townships, park districts and a bevy of smaller specialized agencies that oversee operations of libraries, fire protection districts and other amenities.
Read the full Daily Herald article here.
Did anyone in the village of BH fight hard to keep HORIZON FARMS a private property instead allow this GOVERNMENT LAND GRAB and will now be a tax burden on the community? When it was private land estate the land owners would pay real estate taxes that would benefit the local school, police, fire, etc. How can Cook county which claims to have no money and earlier wanted to charge pop tax and still charge cigarette taxes and other taxes on the public continue these land grabs of hundreds and hundreds of acres? It is currently closed to the public for use. Doesn’t anyone see something wrong with this picture? Note: In our recent tax bill our driveway parcel to our woods went up 400%. What about other people taxes in the community having drastic increases? Is it fair?
You’re so right!