North Cook News

State Rep. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine, is accusing Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his supporters of engaging in false advertisement in hopes of getting his progressive tax proposal over the finish line.

“Anyone that is trying to sell this graduated income tax as a way of providing property tax relief is overselling the proposition,” Morrison told the North Cook News. “Whatever relief the state imagines this providing taxpayers would be easily eclipsed by the growth in spending.”

As it is, Illinois property owners are paying the price, with a new WalletHub report detailing that the state is now home to the second-highest property taxes in the country, behind only New Jersey. By comparison, researchers highlight how a $205,000 home in Illinois is taxed at a rate almost three times greater than a residence valued at the same price in both Kentucky and Indiana. The states with the lowest property tax rates are Hawaii, Alabama, Colorado and Louisiana.

“None of this surprises me because it is a common complaint among constituents in the Northwest suburbs,” Morrison added. “At the end of the day, Illinois has more units of local government than any other state by far and those layers are primarily financed by property taxes. Illinois voters need to pay closer attention to the elections for those local units of government because and have a say in what they want to look like.”

Despite Pritzker’s insistence that his property tax will only mean higher rates for the state’s most affluent, Morrison isn’t buying it.

“This tax, pretty much like every other one, will eventually fall at the feet of the middle class,” he said. “The governor and his supporters can insist otherwise all they want. If this thing were to pass, sooner or later, the truth would be clear to everyone.”