Chicago City Wire

Ammie Kessem said if serious property tax reform doesn’t happen soon in Illinois, a lot of people will head for the door.

“The continual disregard for the citizens in this state and the protections they deserve in regards to government overreach is something that the Democrat-controlled Legislature has ignored for decades,” said Kessem, a Chicago police sergeant who also serves as a 41st Ward Republican committeewoman. She is also vice president of the Northwest Side GOP and as first vice chair of the Chicago Republican Party.

She offered these comments to Chicago City Wire following the end of a four-day special session of the Illinois Legislature. It did not make property tax reform a matter for debate and only passed a bill to offer a 120-day extension, without interest and penalties, for property tax payments, along with an automatic extension for disabled veterans, other disabled people and seniors.

Studies show Illinois has the second-highest property tax rate in the nation, trailing only New Jersey. Polls show that small business owners and homeowners want the issue addressed.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has called it a “local issue,” but before the session resumed he said elected leaders “certainly need to consider everything we can to relieve the tax burden on the people in the state.”

Real property tax reform for all Illinois residents was not addressed. The legislature approved a $40 billion budget for fiscal year 2021, based on billions in federal dollars, eased the tax burden for a potential owner of a Chicago casino and assured public employees that’s pensions will be paid.

Property tax reform? Although the state formed a task force to study it in 2019, once the COVID-19 pandemic hit it was off the table. Kessem said that was both a disappointment and a mistake.

“The more Illinoisans realize their hard-earned money is going to be ripped out of the pocketbooks in terms of not only property taxes but other types of taxes as well, the more people are going to flee this state,” she predicted. “They are already doing it in record numbers.”

She said she has been pushing for reform for some time.

“When I ran for state representative back in 2018, I proposed we enact legislation in order to address this issue,” Kessem said. “I proposed a hard 1 percent cap on property taxes. That meant that if your home was worth $300,000 your property taxes could not exceed $3,000 annually.”

The idea was well-received, she said. 

“Most voters believed this was an excellent piece of legislation to protect their homestead interests,” Kessem said. “Unfortunately, the Republican Party did not win enough seats in the legislature in order to make this a reality. Hopefully, Illinois voters will see the light this coming election cycle and vote more fiscally responsible candidates into office this November.”

Although state lawmakers went home without addressing property tax concerns, it will remain an issue this year, she said.

“Our candidates that are being supported by the Northwest Side and Chicago GOP, such as Anthony Beckman [Senate 10th District] and Jeff Muehlfelder [House 19th], will certainly be supporting that type of legislation should they be elected,” Kessem said.