Will County Board Republicans are requesting a 2% reduction in the county’s property tax levy, a proposal the board’s Democratic leader calls disingenuous.
The Republicans’ request would reduce the property taxes collected by about $4 million. While nothing specific was indicated to be cut, the Republican Caucus said “reductions should begin with administrative and discretionary spending rather than frontline services.”
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“Will County government should not automatically increase its property tax collection simply because state law allows it to do so,” a letter from the County Board Republicans to County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant said. “The County should first examine its reserves, administrative costs, contracts, staffing levels, and nonessential programs.”
Republican Leader Jim Richmond, of Mokena, said their proposal is not looking to cut staff or services. Rather, it would take a deeper look at the budget by line item to find reductions, which would require a group effort among department heads, the county executive’s office and the county board.
Property taxes are the primary topic on homeowners’ minds, Richmond said.
“Illinois has some of the highest property taxes in the nation,” Richmond said. “We don’t have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.”
Democratic Leader Sherry Williams, of Crest Hill, said she believes Republicans are giving property owners the wrong impression that the county can save them a significant amount of money on their property taxes.
The county’s portion of the property tax bill is about 6%, Williams said. The bulk of the tax bill goes to school districts, with several other governing bodies, such as municipalities, townships and fire, park and library districts all collecting a portion of the total bill.
Republicans successfully pushed for no tax levy increase last year and used about $2.77 million in reserves to reconcile an unbalanced budget. The board originally approved its fiscal year 2026 budget with a 1.75% increase in the levy, which created the budget shortfall and led to a heated discussion on the County Board floor.
The difference between the two levies for an owner of a home valued at about $250,000 was $7, the supervisor of assessment’s office said in December.
A 2% reduction as proposed by the County Board Republicans would be between $2 to $3 savings per $100,000 in home value, according to rough calculations, said Mike Theodore, a spokesman for the county executive’s office. It would most likely affect personnel and public safety, which make up the most of the corporate fund, he said.
The savings is minimal, Williams said.
“I like to give people a realistic portrayal of things,” she said. “They make it sound like big savings when they know it’s not. Show me how to do this without cutting services and personnel.”
Williams said everyone wants to lower taxes, but addressing the school district’s portion of the property tax bill is where the work needs to be done.
Will County has an obligation to provide services, she said.
“What are we going to do without?” Williams said. “That’s what I want to know. … Where is the money going to come from?”
Sherry Newquist, the chair of the board’s Finance Committee, said it’s easy to say the county is going to make cuts.
“But what are we going to cut?” Newquist, a Steger Democrat, said. “We have a very tight budget without a lot of excess in it. Everyone would love to save taxpayers money if we could.”
Current economic conditions have contributed to significant increases over last year from rising materials to record fuel costs, Theodore said. County operations, such as the sheriff’s department, courts, jail, highway department and emergency management agency, have all experienced increasing costs, he said.
Board member Steve Balich, a Homer Glen Republican, said he wants deeper cuts to the tax levy, but supports the Republican Party’s reduction of 2%. The county has too much in its reserves, and department heads should be looking at what they need to operate, rather than a wish list, Balich said.
“If you’ve got too much money in the bank, you shouldn’t be taking more money from the people,” Balich said.
Williams said she remembers being a county employee in the 1990s and the county did not have enough in reserves to an extent where employees were worried they weren’t going to be paid.
Theodore said Will County policy is to maintain cash reserves to reflect three months of an operating budget. The cash reserves are there to ensure stability, which is especially important during uncertain economic conditions and rising operational costs, he said. Reserve levels fluctuate based on revenue, expenses and timing of property tax payments.
Bertino-Tarrant has consistently relayed to the County Board that using budget reserves as a fallback for failing to balance a budget is impractical and puts the county’s bond rating at risk, Theodore said.
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Tapping into reserves to fill the fiscal year 2026 budget deficit was reckless and confirmed there were no easy cuts to be found in the budget, Bertino-Tarrant said in December.
Bertino-Tarrant gives the County Board a state-of-the-county address along with a first look of the budget each August. The next County Board meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 20 at the county office building, 302 N. Chicago St., Joliet.
The board has a chance to make amendments to the budget proposal before formally adopting it in the fall. The county’s fiscal year starts on Dec. 1.
“I have made it clear to all county board members that I appreciate negotiations and I hope for a smoother process than last year,” Bertino-Tarrant said in a statement. “I want honest communication rather than last minute political surprises. I have repeatedly provided budgets that do not require a full tax levy, while prioritizing that critical services that keep up with the pace of county growth.”
Both Republican and Democratic leaders said they are interested in open communication to start the budget discussions early and avoid surprises.
Richmond, the Republican leader, said Will County residents have seen their debt from car loans and credit card bills rise while their personal savings is down. Homeowners have had to adjust their personal budgets, and the county should do the same, he said. Reductions in property taxes have to start somewhere, he said.
“This isn’t a Democratic or Republican issue,” Richmond said. “This is an issue for everybody. Everybody pays property taxes. Everybody is complaining.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.