In the 1980s, local governments in Cook County often feasted on huge tax increases that filled their coffers but generated resentment among the homeowners who had to foot the bill.
In recent years, those increases generally have been less severe. Facing political pressures, a stabilizing real estate market and state-imposed property-tax caps, local officials have had less leeway to pursue higher taxes.
And tax rates released Tuesday by the Cook County clerk indicate that the trend is continuing.
Although there are exceptions to the rule, taxpayers across Cook County can expect to see moderate increases in the tax bills they will begin receiving this week. The bills are due Sept. 11.
Overall, the 800 taxing districts in Cook County, from the City of Chicago down to the smallest sanitary district, will receive about $6.9 billion from property-tax receipts this year.
That is $311 million more than a year ago, an increase of 4.7 percent.
So, does all this mean the party’s over?
In some communities, taxpayers would respond with a resounding no. With tax rates up more than 9 percent in parts of Tinley Park and more than 15 percent in parts of Midlothian, there is little evidence that spiraling tax bills are a thing of the past.
In most of those places, homeowners have only themselves to blame. The approval by voters of a tax increase for Bremen High School District 228 largely was responsible for the increase in Midlothian.
But generally, the increases continue to be moderate.
For instance, the owner of a Chicago home assessed at $100,000 and who paid $2,716 in taxes last year will pay about $40 more this year, an increase of less than 2 percent.
When southwest suburban homeowners pluck their tax bills out of their mailboxes, most will see modest increases in the rates, in the range of 1 percent to 5 percent. Some homeowners in Orland Park will see a 2.8 percent increase, for example, and those in Palos Park will see a 3.48 percent increase.
The rates released Tuesday are but one factor used in the complicated formula that eventually yields a tax bill. Because of that, the size of the rate change does not totally predict how much a bill will increase.
In the north and northwest suburbs, for instance, rates in most instances went down.
But those areas were reassessed last year, with property values for the entire region up about 8 percent. The higher assessments allow districts to lower their rates and still collect more money.
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The advantage of higher assessments, however, has not helped taxing districts in the south and southwest suburbs. As a result of the property-tax cap legislation, those suburbs have been unable to capture recent increases in assessed value.
That cap was imposed on many taxing districts in Cook County for the first time last year. Opponents say it is crippling schools, libraries and park districts that rely heavily on property-tax revenue.
“It has especially hurt southern Cook County,” said Pat Gavin, business manager for Lemont-Bromberek Consolidated School District 113. “With the double effect of the tax cap and the frozen equalized-assessed value, we’re not recovering, nor will we.”
“Taxes went up despite tax caps, and it isn’t just schools that are affected,” said Sharon Voliva, legislative chairwoman of the Illinois Parent-Teacher Association.
“Properties in the south suburbs are not increasing in value at the rate the cost of providing service does. We’re going to have unmaintained parks, libraries with smaller staff, shorter hours and schools that have to cut programs,” Voliva said.
In 1995, the cap limited hundreds of taxing bodies to increases in their levies of no more than 5 percent. This year, the ceiling was the inflation rate, or 2.7 percent.
As a result, the clerk’s office shaved $72 million off the tax levies of 200 local governments.
But just two taxing districts, the Chicago Board of Education and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, were responsible for much of the reduction.
The levy for the Chicago Public Schools was cut by $32.8 million, and property taxes for the water district were dropped by $13 million.
Although the tax cap made its debut in the collar counties in 1991, resistance from the education and municipal lobbies and from Democrats in the General Assembly kept the cap out of Cook County until last year.
Although caps have been a factor in suppressing the size of the increases, some experts say political pressure and an end to the rapid rise in property values are probably just as responsible.
With real estate values rising rapidly in the 1980s, some local governments would use the increases in the property base caused by the reassessment to capture additional revenue.
Partly because of growth, homeowners in Lemont actually will see a 1.5 percent decrease in their tax rate, to $9.22 per $100 of assessed valuation. Next year, though, the news is expected to be a little less cheery, for taxpayers approved several referendum issues in the March election.
Voters approved the issuance of $24.5 million in bonds for an addition to Lemont Township High School. They also approved a library referendum measure that involved an issue of $2.8 million in bonds.