A press release from Illinois Senate Republicans:
Senate Democrats Vote to Block Radogno/Rauner Property Tax Freeze
Springfield, IL… The Democrats in charge of the Senate Executive Committee voted this afternoon to block an effort to freeze property taxes in Illinois, sponsored by Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) as part of Gov. Rauner’s pro-jobs reform agenda.
The property tax freeze – an amendment to Senate Bill 1046 – failed in committee on a party-line 6 to 11 vote.
“Illinois has the 2nd-highest property taxes of any state, and that burden is felt by families and businesses in every corner of Illinois,” Radogno said.
“Property tax relief shouldn’t be a partisan issue, because the burden is felt by Illinoisans regardless of party.”
Before voting to block the reform, the committee heard testimony and asked questions of officials with Gov. Rauner’s administration, including Jim Schultz, the head of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the state’s economic development agency.
Earlier in the day, before the property tax freeze was given a hearing in committee, Democrats on the floor of the Senate continued moving ahead with elements of a $36 billion spending bill, estimated to be $4 billion short of the constitutional requirement to balance the budget.
Senate Republicans will continue to attempt to find common ground and compromise in support of Gov. Rauner’s reform agenda as long as the General Assembly is in session.
Radogno, Rauner, and others continue to call for pro-business reforms before additional revenue is considered.
“The people of Illinois deserve real property tax relief, and the ability of local voters to control their own local taxes,” Radogno said. “Sadly, until we find a way to address this problem, families and businesses will continue to leave Illinois.”
Maybe they just want the state all to themselves. The politicians will be the only ones left here!
Maybe people will get so mad they’ll vote in State Representatives, State Senators, and a Governor who will pass legislation to put a Constitutional Amendment on an election ballot asking if voters want to repeal the pension sentence in its entirety that was added to the Illinois State Constitution in 1970.
Since the pension sentence states that pension and retirement system benefits are contractual and cannot be diminished or impaired.
And what followed was legislative pension benefit hikes in the Illinois General Assembly approved by Governors.
Hikes that cannot be diminished unless the pension sentence is repealed from the State Constitution.
Hikes that came as pensions were already underfunded.
Hikes that came as employer / state pension contributions were being shorted or skipped.
Hikes that were never affordable because pensions were already underfunded.
Hikes that were never affordable because pension payments were already being skipped and shorted.
And then some money saved from skipping and shorting pension contributions went to hike salaries, which further hiked pensions, which were already not affordable.
It was a 45 year boondoggle that continues to this day.
99th General Assembly
Senate Executive Committee
Title —————– Name ——————– Party – Office Location – Senate District
Chairperson ———– Don Harmon ————– D —– Oak Park ——– 39th
Vice-Chairperson —— Ira I. Silverstein —— D —– Chicago ——— 8th
Member —————- James F. Clayborne, Jr. – D —– East St. Louis — 57th
Member —————- John J. Cullerton ——- D —– Chicago ——— 6th
Member —————- Mattie Hunter ———– D —– Chicago ——— 3rd
Member —————- Kimberly A. Lightford — D —– Westchester —– 4th
Member —————- Terry Link ————– D —– Gurnee ———- 30th
Member —————- Antonio Muñoz ———– D —– Chicago ——— 1st
Member —————- Kwame Raoul ————- D —– Chicago ——— 13th
Member —————- Heather A. Steans ——- D —– Chicago ——— 7th
Member —————- Donne E. Trotter ——– D —– Chicago ——— 17th
Minority Spokesperson – Matt Murphy ————- R —– Palatine ——– 27th
Member —————- William E. Brady ——– R —– Bloomington —– 44th
Member —————- David S. Luechtefeld —- R —– Okawville ——- 58th
Member —————- Christine Radogno ——- R —– Lemont ———- 41st
Member —————- Sue Rezin ————— R —– Peru ———— 38th
Member —————- Dave Syverson ———– R —– Rockford ——– 35th
http://www.ilga.gov/senate/committees/members.asp?GA=99&committeeID=1565
http://www.ilga.gov > Bills & Resolutions > Senate – Bills SB1046 GOVERNMENT-TECH >
5/28/2015 – Senate – Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Postponed – Executive
5/28/2015 – Senate – Senate Floor Amendment No. 2 Postponed – Executive
State Legislative (Senate) District Maps
http://www.elections.il.gov/VotingInformation/2011SenateDistricts.aspx
http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/reference-sld2014.html
Note: Census maps are more detailed but load slow in the browser. Instead of waiting for the map to load in the browser, click the download button in the browser, save the map (by default such a saved file is typically found in the Download folder), go to the [Download] folder, then open the map from the [Download] folder.
What a bunch of incompetent LOSERS.
Illinois tax revenue is at an ALL TIME HIGH.
Productive workers with successful businesses are bleeding taxes into the huge State Revenue coffers.
The intake and availability of money is NOT the problem. Incompetent and corrupt leadership is the problem.
Any politician who suggests Illinois needs to even consider raising taxes identifies themselves as nothing but a useless idiot.
The fact that the papers write articles complaining about the ostensible “austere measures” that require cuts in spending for the “children, the elderly, or the sick….” are laughable.
It would take any legitimate reported 2 hours to do enough research to show that is such a ruse.
The newspapers are just liberal advocates who run those stories to promote Madigan’s agenda.
Are all the Newspapers engaging in the ‘fear mongering’ tactics displayed by the NWH?
May 28 edition: “CHILD SERVICES FACE CUTS”
Could McCaleb’s position at Pioneer Center be influencing the headlines?
We have lost over one third of the value of our real estate.
The USDA published prices of meat show a price of $3.89 for beef in 2009 and a current price of $5.60.
That amounts to almost a 50 PERCENT INCREASE.
The consequence is thousands no longer eat beef!
The Democrat politicians of this state have been fed the logic there is no end to the amount of money you can tax us. Wrong!
Thousands are voting with their feet!
We can no longer afford many of the social services thousands have grown accustomed to UNLESS the Democrats start to support elimination of the Prevailing wage laws, place a referendum on the ballot to repeal GUARNTEED increases in Public Sector pensions, eliminate public sector strikes and end the practice of providing social services to illegal aliens.
Madigan and most of his fellow Progressive Democrats call these changes “non-budget related” but they do suck away the money people like Dan McCaleb want to use to support the less fortunate!
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/meat-price-spreads.aspx
Hopefully some dyed in the wool democrats will be educated enough in regards to the antics of their leaders to make a change at least in the next election.
I hope the governor stands firm and lets the state run out of money before he raises any kind of taxes.
I don’t see why we need a property tax freeze.
Inflation adjusted, I’m paying WAY less than I would have been paying 15 years ago.
I bought my house in 2010, when I did, I did a FOIA request for the 10 years previous property taxes, so I could see what the trend was.
I’ve tracked it ever since here:
http://imgur.com/wwv8Bnq
In 2000, the property taxes on my house were $3003, inflation (CPI) adjusted , that’s $4197 in 2015 dollars, my property taxes were only $3305 this year.
http://imgur.com/4Ka3Ycb
While yes, the ‘rate’ has went up.
Mine is about 3.5% (2015) vs 2.2% (2000), my house is now valued at it’s lowest value in 15 years.
The rate is meaningless!
Inflation adjusted, I’m paying less than 15 years ago.
I can’t complain.
All that being said, I agree with Mark above, we should repeal the 1970 amendment.
We can’t afford it in the long run.
It’ll screw many people, but in my opinion, that’s on them.
If you don’t diversify your retirement portfolio, your open to getting screwed.
It’s the same as those who leave everything in one company’s stock, companies go bankrupt, apparently so do city’s now too (Detroit), laws change (even constitutions).
If you’re not prepared to roll with the punches, you’re going to get screwed.
Do you see all those homes for sale ?
Do you understand why people are selling their homes,
many at a loss ?
As more residents and businesses leave Illinois
with each passing year, driven out by Madigan / Cullerton and
their ilk in Springfield.
Yes, voting has consequence’s … even for the dead.
One of the problems Illinois has with pensions is a lot of people and I mean those in higher positions like administrators receive very large pensions and move out of Illinois and therefore don’t spend money here or pay other taxes here.
A simple bargaining chip could be to charge taxes of 10% to those that get Illinois pensions and move.
If a person made $30,000 per year they might not move but if a person makes $300,000 per year which some people make they should have to reimburse some to Illinois taxpayers who are stuck with this amount.
It is always take all pensions away or cut all pensions, but I think if a person worked 30 years $30,000 isn’t that much, but it is all the cheating and ways to get higher pensions that cause problems.
This money could go for property tax relief.
ALL THE MORE REASON FOR TERM LIMITS TO BEGIN NOW!
NOT LATER NOW!
Am I missing something here?
Pols think that just “freezing”, some of the highest property taxes in the nation, is some kind of reform?
Your all being conned.
If they freeze prop taxes, they’ll just raise the personal income taxes.
Just like your Assessor’s disclaimer, that even if you reduce your assessed valuation, your amount owed can still go up (which it has).
The Pols and Public Sector than pat themselves on the back on how hard their working for you and you will never see any reduction in spending.
Illinois is one ginormous flim flam.
Where do you live?
In terms of rank and file vs management (and other high cost employees), the underfunding is due more to the rank and file.
That’s because there’s far more rank and file than management / high cost employees.
There’s not many pensions of $30,000 for 30 years worked in the Chicago suburbs for people retiring now who worked full time their entire career and do not receive social security (some pensions such as the SERS state workers contributed to and thus receive Social Security in addition to their pension).
There are 18 pension funds in the Illinois Pension Code so there are all sorts of exceptions.
But as an example a beginning teacher makes at least $40,000 in the Chicagoland area.
Starting pension for Tier 1 is 75% of the average of the last 4 years worked.
Now beginning teachers are not in Tier 1, they are in Tier 2, but we are talking about existing pensions, and teachers receiving pensions now are in Tier 1.
$75% of $40,000 is $30,000.
So that’s just one example, we know pensions are much higher than $30,000 in most cases for someone whom worked 30 years and is not receiving Social Security.
So how did pensions get so generous.
One reason is politicians used the pension systems to obtain votes, by exchanging benefit and salary hikes for election campaign contributions, votes, and election campaign assistance.
The salaries have been hiked and the benefits have been hiked including COLA and that hiked the pension payout, and now there needs to be some clawbacks, and that can’t be done until the pension sentence added to the State Constitution in 1970 is repealed.
The pension hikes were not negotiated in good faith as has been discussed endlessly.
Pension benefits were hiked even though pensions were already underfunded.
Pension benefits were hiked as the current years employer pension contribution was shorted or underfunded.
Pension benefits were hiked as annual budget money was diverted from pension funding to amongst other uses hiking salaries, which in turns hikes the eventual pension payout.
None of that “protects” pensions.
The pension sentence added to the 1970 state constitution is billed by unions and those receiving pensions and inline to receive pensions as the pension protection clause.
It instead allowed pension benefits to be hiked, and those hiked benefits cannot be clawed back.
Thus the pension sentence trapped taxpayers into paying higher taxes for hiked pension benefits.
The only way the taxpayers can get out of the trap is by repealing the pension sentence trap added to the constitution in 1970.
The practices of legislatively hiking pensions, hiking salaries, shorting and skipping annual employer pensions contributions, escalated after the pension sentence was added to the state constitution in 1970.
Certainly most people would not complain about a 10% tax surcharge on public sector pensioners whom reside out of state, but until the pension trap sentence is repealed from the state constitution, unless the tax is across the board for all Illinois residents, the tax would probably be challenged in court, and we’ve seen how pension friendly our state courts are.
Hey, Doug!
And when the government seizes your retirement portfolio, who will be screwed?
Cindy, not at all far fetched.
I lost a bundle when children’s book author, lawyer and FDIC Chair appointee Bair, arbitrarily shut down WAMU.
Just days after another Gov. banking regulator, gave them the green light.
Proceeds all going to Chase and her pal Jamie Dimon.
Calls for investigations all got swept under with time and the Bankruptcy Filings I received, even tricked me into sending my then ‘souvenir’ stock certificates in for claim, without even a penny or return correspondence.
Lesson is, never invest in anything like banks or energy.
Anything the Gov. has oversight and it’s usual over reach.
I’m tellin’ ya D.
You’re preaching to the choir.
I shake my head at the folks that tout their big government pensions.
Sorry for your hassles D, but we are all going to learn the hard way eventually.
Here’s a thought…just stop all government spending until the budget is balanced, property and other taxes are in line and all pension contributions the State is supposed to have made has been.
It’s a shell game and funny that all these folks are running around following the shiny object that represents “public pensions”.
You that have vilified and cast your hatred and shade on employees are missing the real problem.
It’s simple, your legislature has–for decades–failed to fund pensions and played with the money.
Now, the chickens have come home to roost and you’ve all bought the concept that greedy, inconsiderate and evil public employees–who you think are too lazy, inept and incompetent to secure “real world” work are to blame.
Honest to God’s truth–all of us that have effectively fallen asleep at the wheel and continued to elect these same politicians to the same jobs to do the same garbage are to blame.
So, to extrapolate upon a previous poster’s inane contention that we sue politicians for hiring public sector employees—there’s a simpler solution.
Just don’t spend any money on anything until obligations have been met.
No road work, no infrastructure improvements, no grants, no pork spending–just pay the employees to keep chugging along for the next few years–close a few bridges, let some roads degrade to gravel, don’t remove snow, don’t fund social programs and, inside a few years to a decade–we’ll be solvent, taxes can fall in line with other states and it’s all gravy
BTW, Karma–how many +$300,000/year pensioners do you think IL has?
And, “all that money” your 10% tax (which won’t work…at all), won’t amount to enough to blacktop three miles of road….
Let’s just stop welfare payments, for everyone.
That’ll provide more money, won’t violate all sorts of law and cause those who are really bilking the system to flee to more solvent and higher welfare providing states.
When I was driving around the state running for State Comptroller in 1982, I saw Caddys coming up I-57 about the time welfare checks were arriving.
Gee, Cal.
Should I be insulted?
I drive a Caddy and I have never been on welfare.
Cal, what percentage of taxes goes to welfare for “the indigent” vs Medicare, pensions, and other entitlements?
I think that the monies that are given away to people on welfare are but a fraction of the cost of Medicare
Public sector pension benefit hikes, salary hikes, retiree healthcare benefit hikes, current benefit hikes, the entire public sector overall compensation hikes, is way out of line in far too many state and local governments in Illinois.
A classic case of nickel and dime, kick the can, hide and seek, it’s nutty.
It is unsustainable.
The taxpayers were duped.
The taxpayers were attacked with hikes from all levels and directions, to such an extent they do not even know what happened because most are not human resorce experts, but more are waking up that something is not right, only to be made feeling guilty over not honoring promises, when in fact it is the hikes the taxpayers were not told about, so hikes are called promises.
Promises are hikes.
Hikes are promises.
In Illinois public sector compensation lexicon.
The idea about holding public officials accountable for willful malpractice should not strike anyone as inane, when medical professionals are at risk for all they own every minute of their professional careers.
Because there are no adverse consequences for imprudent, willfully negligent(public sector) spending, spending occurs.
If public officials had consequences for spending which constitutes professional malpractice, their decision-making would be altered by that factor.
The argument that no one would serve public office if at risk of civil liability for gross negligence is absurd when one considers the medical profession, where that very condition exists and still people are willing to serve in the field.
The inducements of greed and fear work on every human.
Most professions, other than political and legal face adverse consequences when they perform poorly or without regard for professional standards.
So fear may motivate most professionals to perform in a way which may not be to their own personal best interest (enhancing their own personal profits to the greatest possible degree).
Absent that ‘fear factor’, Political professionals may be motivated entirely by greed.
Can’t tell you.
One is Federal, the other at least half state.
Susan, there are a litany of laws that hold public officials accountable.
The big one I can think of is Official Misconduct–under Illinois State law and I recall numerous indictments handed down to politicos, under Federal law, for being greedy (Hastert is just the most recent).
Inducements of greed and fear–that statement brings your integrity more into question than anyone else’s–if not, at least your pessimistic view of human nature.
What has propelled this dilemma is 9 parts voter apathy and 1 part political greed.
Let’s all be honest, if we had attentive, critical thinking voters, none of this non-sense would have happened–but we continually re-elect the Hasterts, Rostenkowskis, Blagos and Ryans of Illinois.
The worthless contention that there are no viable candidates and we just choose the less evil is bunk.
We need to have a media worthy of vetting candidates, a voter that is intelligent of the issues, then a worthy candidate–we all speak with our votes.
Save the ‘Fear Factor’ for re-runs of that awful show–it has no place in politics.
Let the voter and enforcement due their part.
You’ve missed the point.
It’s not about integrity, it’s about poor professional performance.
No matter the integrity level of the officials ( or blog commenter),
Taxes in Woodstock are 4.67% of home values
4.67% is about triple the national average property tax rate
WoodstockCUSD 200 has amassed $150 million of debt
This is a debt encumbrance of 6.5% of total home values in
District (statutory debt limit is 4.6%)
These facts, considering that thousands of school districts and municipalities across America manage to provide average education and services for far lower tax rates, indicate extremely poor professional performance of governance duties.
The system has human operators. With or without integrity, humans are motivated by greed and fear. Perhaps not for money, but Greed for love or Fear of lack of love.
Spending money rewards the decision maker with the love of those receiving the money.
Cutting budgets engenders the loss of love ( cutting jobs or social services for example ).
THe recipients of this public money are not nameless and faceless like ‘the taxpayers’, they are contract bidders and ancillary board members and people seen every day at work.
Love from those with whom decision makers are in close contact carries more weight than love from nameless faceless individuals.
The wonderful feeling that comes with generous giving of money might be characterized as love by those officials in positions of giving it.
But that is only half of the equation.
It’s only love when you give away your own resources. When you force others to give for a project so that you can collect the love, I’d call it the opposite of love.
What is the definition of the feeling toward the nameless faceless taxpayers whose lives are shattered as their home values are cut in half, or who have had to choose between paying real estate taxes to keep their children in their homes, but at the cost of the college savings fund?
Is that Hatred?
Is it Sociopathic Indifference?
Better for all of we enforce a system in which human motivating factors are removed.
Spending such that prudent budgeting standards are ignored must have consequences., or such spending will continue to occur.
I am arguing to change the system in a way which will encourage responsible budgetary decision making, no matter which system operators are in porsitions of spending power.
Next election, we know who to vote out of office.
Rauner is a keeper.