Why are my property taxes so high?
Because of Illinois' outdated tax system, schools and municipalities rely heavily on property taxes to cover expenses—and rates have risen dramatically. This also leads to wide disparities across the region. Here's a breakdown of two Cook County property tax bills—one from Maywood and one from Oak Park. Spoiler alert: The owners of the two homes pay about the same in taxes, even though the Maywood home is worth a lot less.
What goes where?
Most property tax bills are derived from levies from at least a dozen government taxing bodies, from school districts and village halls to libraries and mosquito abatement districts. Illinois has nearly 7,000 units of government collecting $30 billion in property taxes every year. The two homeowners above (slide the image to compare) pay taxes to 16 government units.
Typically, the highest costs are for elementary, secondary and community college education, in this case more than 60 percent of the tax bill. These costs are high because the state's share of local school costs in Illinois is among the lowest in the nation.
PENSIONS: Another portion of the bill goes to government worker pensions, though for teachers the overwhelming employer costs of pensions are paid by the state.
The second most expensive portions of bills are commonly for city or village government. In cases where towns lack or have lost commercial or industrial enterprises, more and more of these costs fall on homeowners, raising taxes dramatically even as home values sink. To see an example, move the slider above to see a tax bill from nearby Maywood, where an unusually high 58 percent of the overall bill goes to village government.
This is the composite of all the tax rates charged by government bodies. In some south suburbs, the rate reaches over 30 percent of the property value.
GRAPHIC: See which suburbs have the highest and lowest tax rates
Property value and exemptions
PROPERTY VALUE: This is the "fair cash value" of a property, determined by the county assessor's office.
EXEMPTIONS: Credits are granted to property owners who live in their homes, veterans, senior citizens, disabled people and victims of natural disasters. These credits reduce tax bills but shift costs onto other taxpayers.
The final tally
ASSESSMENT: This is the calculation of what value of the home should be taxed, adjusted to be in line with assessments elsewhere across the state.
Property taxes on the Oak Park house rose to $12,133 in 2018 from $8,166 in 2007, a jump of 49 percent, though the assessment rose only 1.3 percent, according to Realtor.com.
GRAPHIC: Look at how taxes for this Oak Park property increased overtime.
February 7, 2020
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Wide swings in tax rates
The Cook County clerk reported that the average property tax rate for a single-family dwelling or commercial property in 2018 was 6.78 percent. Here's the average tax bill for various areas.
Suburban composite Cook County tax rates: The highest rates vs. lowest rates
Source: Cook County clerk
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Relentless rise in tax bills
Property values for this Oak Park home have been largely stagnant since the recession, but the property tax bill is up 49 percent since 2007.
Property tax history