St. Charles, IL – Last week in East Peoria, Governor Pritzker stated that enacting property tax reforms is now a legislative priority as he intends to seek a third term in office. Yet, for the last seven years the Governor has been in office, he and the supermajority Democrats have done nothing to help Illinois residents with enacting any reforms to help lower sky-high and ever-increasing property tax rates.
The problems could not get much worse. Illinois has the second worst effective property tax rate in the nation, according to Rocket Mortgage. In addition, a study from SmartAsset named Peoria as the city with the highest property taxes in the nation relative to median home value.
“It is absolutely outrageous for the Governor and Democrat supermajority to now come out and say they want to lower property taxes in Illinois,” stated Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva). “After seven years of doing nothing, now we should trust that the Governor and his party’s supermajorities plan on addressing the problem? I’ve filed real legislation to provide relief, and I’ll drive to Springfield today if the Governor is ready to finally stand up for working families and join me.
“If the Governor is serious, then stop campaigning and start governing,” Rep. Ugaste continued. “Call a Special Session. Let’s vote. My bill, HB 9, which would have provided nearly $2.8 billion dollars in property tax relief this year alone, has been ready to go since last Session. Once fully implemented, some areas of the State could see a 50 percent reduction in their property tax levy. It is estimated this plan could save Illinois property taxpayers approximately $82 billion over the next 21 years.”