Illinois Valley Times

With the state’s property tax crisis showing few signs of slowing, Illinois state Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Elmhurst) is taking matters in her own hands in her effort to bring about some relief to her 38th District constituents.

 “I have a bill that by referendum would allow voters to share administration costs in schools,” Rezin told the Illinois Valley Times. “Schools spend a very high average per student on administration and this is one way to help alleviate those costs.”

Rezin points to a new WalletHub.com survey that finds for the third straight year Illinois is home to the second-highest property taxes in the country, trailing only New Jersey, as yet another example of how off-track things have grown. As part of the survey, researchers highlight how taxes on a home valued at $205,000 in Illinois are almost three times higher ($4,700) than they are for the same priced home in nearby Kentucky or Indiana ($1,760).

“Gov. Pritzker recently convened a task force to study the issue and offer solutions, but not surprisingly they did not come back with any suggestions that would mean decreases for taxpayers,” Rezin added. ”This is our seventh task force looking at property taxes and Democrats have been in control of both the House and Senate for each of them. At some point, it just comes down to the party in charge deciding if they want to implement any of these suggestions or do anything differently.”

No matter what, Rezin vows to continue fighting for her constituents and doing anything she can to bring about some level of relief.

“In the end, we need real reform legislation that will allow us to be able to significantly power our taxes,” she said. “Right now, it looks like just more business as usual on the issue and everything that can be done really isn’t.”