State Rep. George Scully (D-Flossmoor) last week urged approximately 65 residents to attend the first meeting of a state task force investigating alleged taxing inequities in districts that overlap Cook County and the collar counties.
Scully told village residents at the monthly meeting of the Steger Wilco Action Taxforce that the state group’s meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 30 at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago.
The 25-member task force is composed of county assessors, clerks and recorders, Illinois Department of Revenue staff members and other tax experts who review and research problems.
Under a formula used only in Cook County, the significantly lower property taxes paid by homeowners are made up by the higher property taxes paid on commercial and industrial real estate. The collar counties, such as Will County, make no distinction among commercial, industrial and residential in their property-tax formulas.
The situation has been particularly painful to Steger residents living on the Will County side of the village. Many contend their Cook County counterparts–with whom they share two school districts–do not share the financial burden.