Forty of the 50 people writing public letters of support for Wilmette School District 39’s proposed tax levy increase have appealed their own real estate tax assessments, according to a North Cook News review of records in the Cook County Assessor’s Office.
Betsy Hart, who is on the board of New Trier Neighbors, a community group opposing the levy increase, said the news of the assessment appeals left her “breathless.”
“The district is going to get its money,” Hart said, “so if you support a tax increase but fight to lower your assessment that means your neighbor is paying even more for something you supported.”
“It’s a bit like 'Animal Farm,'” she added. “Some animals are more equal than others.”
District 39's board is proposing to increase its tax levy by $2 million. The increase would come on top of taxes paid by Wilmette residents and businesses to the school district that grew by 37 percent between 2009 and 2016, to nearly $52 million, according to research by Ted Dabrowski, president of Wirepoints, an online news service that reports on taxes and government spending. Overall, Illinois has the highest property taxes in the country.
Meanwhile, home values in Wilmette are headed in the opposite direction. In a recent letter to the Wilmette Beacon in opposition to the levy, resident Kathy Myalls wrote that over the last 10 years, Wilmette property values have fallen substantially, and, according to Crain’s, are still down 5.4 percent from their high in 2007.
“Despite this, our property taxes increase yearly,” Myalls wrote. “The high tax rates are already depressing our home values. And yet, our school board plans to take more money.”
Further on in her commentary, Myalls added that voters should demand the school board make its case for the higher taxes and the larger budget.
“Demand that the district identify specific reasons it seeks the budget and tax increase, especially since the school board anticipated and budgeted for a property tax freeze and pension pickup, neither of which has happened,” she wrote. “Ask how 2 million more dollars next year – an increase twice the rate of inflation! – will improve student outcomes, and what needs will go unmet without the extra money.”
Dabrowski says that the problem in Wilmette, as in other Illinois school districts, is not one of revenue but one of spending.
In a Nov. 16 article published by Wirepoints, Dabrowski wrote that Wilmette is distracting residents from one of the major problems with education in Illinois – administrative bloat.
“Too many administrations, executive-level salaries and the multimillion dollar pensions that come with them are crowding out funding for students and classrooms,” he wrote. “And that has districts across the state looking to fill their budgets with even bigger tax levies.”
District 39's board has scheduled a public hearing and vote on the levy for Dec. 18.
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People who wrote letters supporting tax levy
| Name | Address | Appealed property
taxes in 2015 | Appealed property
taxes in 2016 |
| Denise & Brad Akason | 1207 Elmwood Ave | N | Y |
| Kimberly Alcantara | 1626 Spencer | N | Y |
| Oscar Alcantara | N | Y | |
| Margie & Mike Bennett | 7 Crescent Pl | N | Y |
| Chad Boomgaarden | 1315 Central Ave | N | Y |
| Kathryn Byrnes | 911 Elmwood Ave | Y | Y |
| Rhona DiCamillo | 750 12th St | N | Y |
| Ann Dronen | 1523 Elmwood | N | N |
| Laura Fisher | 821 Forest Ave | Y | Y |
| Dan Fogel | 601 Laramie Ave | N | Y |
| Susan & Sean Gallagher | 1137 Greenwood Ave | Y | Y |
| Caroline Goldstein | 1426 Lake Ave | N | Y |
| Kristina Grbavac | 3023 Hartzell | Y | N |
| Kristin Crane Harper | N | N | |
| Christi Harrison | N | N | |
| Kathy Kempf | 1118 Forest Ave | N | N |
| Jacki & Dan Krashin | 3019 Washington Ave | Y | Y |
| Sara Kurensky | N | N | |
| Cindy Levine | 825 Chilton Ln | N | Y |
| Michael Lieber | 2035 Hollywood Ct | N | Y |
| Julie Lipford | 2132 Beechwood | N | Y |
| Eleanor Lipinski | 1243 Gregory Ave | N | Y |
| Erin Lyons | 1213 Princeton Pl | Y | Y |
| Jon Marshall | 822 Prairie | N | N |
| Karleen McAllister | N | N | |
| Sarina McBride | 105 4th St | N | N |
| Kathy McCabe | 1430 Maple | Y | Y |
| Chantel & Eric Meier | 1131 Forest Ave | Y | Y |
| Jennifer Nash | 1729 Washington | N | Y |
| Aimee Neumann | 2059 Old Glenview | N | Y |
| Dan O'Brien | 1025 Ashland Ave | Y | Y |
| Peter Office | 523 Maple Ave | Y | Y |
| Emma Office | Y | Y | |
| Charlotte Office | Y | Y | |
| Joan Oh | 1742 Highwood Ave | N | Y |
| Heather Oliver | 723 Laurel Ave | N | Y |
| Carrie Palmer | N | Y | |
| Natalie Phillips | 327 Oak Circle | Y | Y |
| Michael Rothstein | 826 Park Ave | N | Y |
| Amy Schiffman | 808 Westwood Ave | N | N |
| Gail Schnitzer Eisenberg | 825 Lake | Y | Y |
| Tim Scherman | 1227 Maple | Y | Y |
| Deb Sokol | 441 Pinehurst Ln | N | N |
| Tracy Sommer | 812 Oakwood | N | Y |
| Kim Sterling | 840 Chilton | N | Y |
| Anne Sullivan | 510 Lake Ave | Y | Y |
| Sarah Titterton | 1700 Forest Ave | N | Y |
| Paul Traynor | 1600 Central Ave | N | Y |
| Leslie Weyhrich | 1018 Elmwood Ave | N | Y |
| Amy Yulish | 1912 Highland Ave | Y | Y |
Source: Cook County Assessor's Office
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