COUNTRY CLUB HILLS — During a public discussion about Illinois' exceptionally high property taxes, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner called for legislation that would ban state lawmakers from also acting as property-tax appeals lawyers – a direct attack on Rauner's arch political rival, House Speaker Mike Madigan.
Madigan, who has been Speaker of the Illinois House for over 30 years, is co-founder and partner in a six-attorney law firm that specializes in property tax appeals. His company, Madigan & Getzendanner, represents some of the Chicago Loop's most prominent buildings in their appeals.
Gov. Bruce Rauner listened at a south suburban roundtable Thursday as people talked of struggling to hold on to their homes and businesses while paying some of the highest property taxes in the nation, and he vowed systemic change, a press release from the governor's office says.
Lawmakers that gain income from the status quo have little incentive to tackle meaningful property-tax reform, Rauner said. He is calling for legislators to make it illegal for state lawmakers to also act as property-tax appeals lawyers, profiting from a property-tax assessment system that many have decried as fundamentally unfair.
Legislation will be introduced when the General Assembly returns later this month.
The bill has zero chance of moving through the Democrat-dominated General Assembly. Speaker Madigan not only rules the Illinois House with an "iron fist," observers say, he has been chairman of the Illinois Democrat Party since the early 1990s. No Democrat would dare to allow the measure to be heard even in committee, much less on the Illinois House floor.
Rauner promised he would issue an executive order, which would be effective immediately, directing members of the Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board to prohibit state legislators from participating in appeals coming before them.
“The system is rigged so that only those with clout have the resources to fight it,” Rauner said. “Property taxes are through the roof here. It’s unfair, it’s unjust. It’s forcing people to move, forcing small businesses to leave … We’ve got to change the system.”
Legislators already are restricted from professionally representing individuals before the Workers’ Compensation Commission and the Court of Claims. This proposal simply adds the Property Tax Appeals Board and local government bodies to the list.
People frequently cite property taxes as a top reason for leaving the state. Illinois’ population declined by an estimated 33,700 in 2017, dropping from the fifth-largest to the sixth-largest state.
Several business and homeowners that attended Thursday’s roundtable spoke of inequities and financial duress they have faced.
- Glenwood homeowner Adam Winston said he bought his home 10 years ago for $170,000. Today, he said, it is worth $120,000, and his annual property tax bill totals $8,000.
- Charles Higgins of Dolton pays $4,800 in property taxes on his home valued at $48,000, he said. Three homes on his block are abandoned; former neighbors have said they are walking away from their homes and mortgages because the property taxes have rendered them unaffordable.
- Christine Wilson of Flossmoor bought her home in 2011 for $257,000. It is now worth $190,000, she said, according to a recent appraisal Wilson requested. The Cook County Assessor’s Office, however, says it is worth between $290,000 and $300,000, and her property taxes are $12,698.
“We have the third-highest property tax burden in the U.S., and more mortgages under water due to crushing taxes than in 48 other states,” Rauner said. “Illinois has too many terrific assets — a tremendous workforce, world-class educational institutions and an unparalleled transportation hub, to name a few — to allow high taxes to continue to drain our economy.
“It’s time to change this story,” Rauner said. “A big key to that is restoring public trust and taking politics out of the equation.”
