Will County Gazette

Park Forest Mayor Joseph A. Woods, Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker, and Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi have collaborated on an op-ed published in the Chicago Tribune. The piece discusses their joint efforts to advocate for legislation designed to assist homeowners facing substantial property tax increases.

The assessor's office has been working with state legislators to introduce a property tax relief program. This initiative is presented as SB1978 by Senator Patrick Joyce and HB3808 by Representative Justin Slaughter. Known as a "circuit breaker," the program aims to provide relief for homeowners whose tax bills have risen by more than 25 percent from one year to the next. The goal is to address the significant tax hikes experienced in the south suburbs last summer and protect residents from similar future increases.

A local relief fund of $15 million has been established, offering $1,000 to eligible households. Officials emphasize that this measure is crucial for creating a fairer and more sustainable tax system, particularly as many residents are concerned about losing their homes.

Mayor Woods explained in the op-ed that Park Forest residents have been notably impacted by property taxes despite the Village not increasing its budget or relying on property taxes in five of the past seven years. Instead, there has been a shift in the tax burden among different property types.

The mayor and other officials believe that implementing a state-funded circuit breaker managed by the assessor's office would be an initial step toward addressing the heavy reliance on property taxes for funding public services. They suggest that approximately $200 million annually could fund a fiscally responsible circuit breaker program.

According to them, such a program could be implemented without incurring new administrative costs since the assessor's office already possesses much of the infrastructure needed to manage it. An agreement with the Illinois Department of Revenue provides access to most of the data required for automatically enrolling qualifying homeowners.

Mayor Woods and other officials are calling on community members to support this initiative by contacting their local state representatives and senators and urging them to back this bill.

To read the op-ed, click here.