Vaccines for age 12+, Public Meetings on Redistricting, Ethics Commission Members Sought and more
Dear Neighbors,
I hope this finds you and family well. It's been a busy week, so buckle your seatbelts. There's much to report and the news is moving fast.
The best news from where I sit is that the Lake County Fairgrounds vaccination site is taking walk-ins during designated hours every day. That's right, just walk into the huge fairgrounds hall and get a shot during the designated hours. Anyone over 12 is now eligible. Read more
Since our vaccine supply at the moment is plentiful, there are thousands of doses available, so if you need a shot, get a shot. Tell your family, friends and neighbors. The more people who get vaccinated, the sooner we can beat the bug.
Speaking of a stinging sensation, property tax bills have landed in your mailbox. Although no one really wants to hear the thud of those heavy envelopes, I have some good news to report.
Treasurer Holly Kim and I have been working over the past year to make it easier to understand the tax and appeal process. In what we call a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, we spell out three solid ways you can possibly reduce your bill. Not only that, we show you the many ways we've cut costs across the county to lower government spending.
Although these ways to appeal your bill have been around for years, most people don't know the full extent of these options -- and don't take advantage of them. We also show where your tax money goes by taxing body (most of it goes to schools) -- and how to find out more.
Please note: When you get your "blue" notices from your township assessor, you have 30 days to file a county Board of Review appeal, although you can correct property descriptions any time. What if the county rejects your appeal? You can appeal to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, which is another option noted in the bill of rights.
Treasurer Kim has also done a great job streamlining the bill paying process. For the first year, we're offering e-filing.
Flummoxed by your tax bill? We've produced a helpful video that walks you through the bill.
Okay, this all this is well and good, but what are you really doing to cut property taxes? At the county, which accounts for 7% of your total tax bill, we've kept spending flat for the past two years. We hope to do that this year, despite the fiscal and human ravages of COVID-19, which forced us to cut spending by millions.
We've found big, long-term savings by refinancing bonds at lower interest rates -- some $7 million at the county and $8 million from the Forest Preserve. We're also consolidating offices and agencies. Our Recorder of Deeds will be merged with our Clerk's office. We eliminated one drainage and one mosquito abatement district and hope to do more. We've requested that the federal government grant us more than $40 million so that we can finance long-delayed capital improvement projects. I've been working hard on those requests as chair of the Legislative Committee. Every dollar we get from Washington or Springfield is a dollar we don't have to ask you for through property taxes.
Reforming and increasing education funding and examining assessment practices are essential steps in reducing property taxes. Many school districts are underfunded, which is Springfield's main responsibility. There's also an ongoing problem with certain areas being over-assessed on property values.
According to a 2020 study by the University of Chicago Harris School Center for Municipal Finance, which analyzed Lake County:
The most expensive homes were assessed at 32.1% of their value and the least expensive homes were assessed at 39.5%, which is 1.23 times the rate applied to the most expensive homes.
This inequity translates into the least-expensive homes paying “an effective tax rate of 3.76%, which is 1.85% the rate applied to the most expensive homes.” The highest rate calculated in the study was 4.8%.
This problem is most pronounced in communities like Grayslake, Hainesville and Round Lake Park, where effective tax are as high as 3.9%.
When you compare it to a median effective rate for the entire county of about 2%, you can see how lower- and middle-income areas are being hit with alarmingly high tax rates.
What does this mean? Middle to lower-income communities are often paying higher property taxes relative to the value of their homes. While some communities have a robust local tax base due to many retail, commercial and industrial properties, others do not. Those with the lower tax pool have to make up the difference in higher property taxes to pay for education and other services. Nearly every community has to float bonds to pay for building and maintaining schools. Taxpayers pay for these debts.
Needless to say, we need more recent data (this study only covers 2007-2016) and deeper analysis on why some properties are assessed higher than others. That will need to come from Springfield, which writes the laws on property assessment. I've been working on forming an intergovernmental task force to probe these issues, which I hope will gain momentum once we get through the pandemic. And you should also know that I asked Professor Christopher Berry, a national expert on property taxation and principal author of this research, to include Lake County in this national study. Also note that township assessors and our county assessor’s offices have been working together in recent years to ensure that assessments are accurate.
Of course, to create a fairer property tax system, both Springfield and Washington need to step up. The simple math is that if you cut property taxes, the money to run schools, pay first responders, libraries, park districts and villages has to come from somewhere other than local taxpayers. Maintaining a high level of services in the county is costly. Someone has to pay the bills.
Still, there's much you can do. 1) You can call your state legislators to fully fund their "evidence-based education funding program," which will alleviate the school underfunding situation over time. 2) Call your congressional representatives and senators to ask for more federal funding for public buildings bricks and mortar and maintenance -- and bigger federal tax deductions for residential real estate taxes.
All told, only a concerted effort by every level of government will lower your tax bill. That's why I highly encourage you to read and use the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The more questions you ask, the more knowledge you will gain. Knowledge is power.
On the Forest Preserve front, we saw the initial plans for a new education building at Ryerson Woods (to replace some unrepairable cabins), which will serve more than 25,000 students throughout the county. The building will be a quantum leap forward in design. It's being built to last a long time and be "net positive," meaning it will create more energy than it uses.
This building, one of three net-positive structures planned within the Forest Preserve to replace obsolete facilities, will save 90% over conventional energy bills. This incredible investment will likely pay for itself in seven years. We'll be able to bank those savings and re-invest in restoring our priceless forests, prairies and wetlands. As you might imagine, I've been a strong advocate of green infrastructure design and have been active in fundraising to finance these buildings so that we don’t have to use taxpayer dollars.
Speaking of investing in the future of our natural heritage, you may see some new tags in our preserves that read "Give, Naturally." This is a gentle prompt for you to consider donating to our Preservation Foundation, which is building an endowment for future generations.
(Note: My faithful and observant trail buddy Brogan saw this sign in Rollins Savanna. He doesn't miss a thing, although I honestly think he was more interested in the birds.)
If you need immediate help with anything from food to rental assistance, please call the 2-1-1 hotline operated by United Way of Lake County.
I am available to talk to your community group. It's always my honor to serve you.
Be well, be safe,
John
