By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Some Illinois House Republicans say the facts are: the state is losing population, and out-of-control property taxes are the reason. One Republican, State Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford), says the state would have a million more people if it grew at the same rates as Indiana, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
He’s suggesting a three percent limit on how much your property tax bill can go up over the previous year. State Rep. Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) suggests five percent. He also wants to “prevent assessments from increasing more than three percent a year or the CPI, whichever is lower.”
State Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) says Gov. JB Pritzker is paying attention to the wrong kind of people. “The governor aims to provide more state tax funds to undocumented illegal aliens while requiring local municipalities to continue to fund services. These unfunded mandates are causing significant problems for our local communities.”
McLaughlin, a former mayor, says the state should restore the Local Government Distributive Fund – cities’ share of the state income tax – to ten percent once and for all.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]
