US. Suburban residents risk losing homes over rising pension costs
By Amy Korte
Patricia Hill grew up in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood dreaming of one day owning a home. She and her husband accomplished that dream in 2003 when they moved to the suburb of Matteson to raise their two daughters. They bought a two-story home in a quiet neighborhood for $315,000. Her property taxes were $7,800 for 2004.
But Hill’s home is now worth less than she paid for it back in ’03. Meanwhile, her property taxes have done anything but decline. She now pays nearly $10,000 in property taxes.
“Everyone is in shock when I tell them the property taxes. They say it must be an error,” Patricia said.
Patricia is not alone. In the 1990s, Illinois property tax bills were around the national average. But in the two decades from 1999 to 2019, we’ve seen a massive 65% increase in residential property taxes, adjusted for inflation. That increase is what drove Illinois to having one of the highest tax burdens in the nation.
The source of Patricia’s – and her fellow Illinoisans’ – property tax pains? Public employee pensions.
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