Illinois Valley Times

La Salle County has received a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000 for the 2025 tax year, according to David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).

The property assessment equalization factor, also known as the "multiplier," is used to ensure that property assessments are uniform across all counties in Illinois. This process is required by law because many local taxing districts, such as school districts and fire protection districts, can span more than one county. Without this equalization, taxpayers with similar properties in different counties could face significant disparities in their tax responsibilities.

Illinois law states that most property should be assessed at one-third of its market value. Farm homesites and dwellings are assessed under regular procedures, while farmland and farm buildings use standards based on productivity.

Each year, IDOR calculates the equalization factor for each county by comparing the sales prices of individual properties over the past three years to their assessed values as determined by local assessors. If the average level of assessment matches one-third of market value, the multiplier will be set at 1.0000. If assessments exceed or fall below this threshold, the multiplier will adjust accordingly.

For La Salle County, assessments were found to be at 32.86% of market value based on sales from 2022 through 2024. The current tentative factor applies to taxes payable in 2026. Last year’s equalization factor was also set at 1.0000.

This tentative figure may change if the County Board of Review makes significant adjustments or if new data is provided that challenges IDOR’s estimates. A public hearing on this matter will take place between 20 and 30 days after publication in a county-wide newspaper.

David Harris explained that changes in the multiplier do not directly affect total property tax bills: "Tax bills are determined by local taxing bodies when they request money each year to provide services to local citizens." He added that if these requests do not increase from one year to the next, total taxes should remain steady even if property assessments rise.

The share of taxes paid by an individual taxpayer depends on their property's assessed value relative to others but is not changed by adjustments in the multiplier.