McHenry County Blog

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn has promoted all sorts of referendums, the latest being a series of county

referendums in 2004.

It called for doubling the income tax on those earning over $250,000 a year and using the proceeds to increase State Aid to Education and send an annual check of about $200 to each homeowner.

75% voted in favor. Only about 100,000 of the half million voted in Downstate counties and other local jurisdictions lived outside of Cook County.

Tiny Hardin County (population 4,800) in Southeastern Illinois along the Wabash River voted almost 59% “No.” Hardin is one of Illinois’ poorer counties, but it voters apparently don’t like it when someone wants to raise their taxes.

82% of Cook County residents (72% in suburban Cook County) made their “income envy” known.

Just thought you’d like to know.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn has promoted all sorts of referendums, the latest being a series of county

referendums in 2004.

It called for doubling the income tax on those earning over $250,000 a year and using the proceeds to increase State Aid to Education and send an annual check of about $200 to each homeowner.

75% voted in favor. Only about 100,000 of the half million voted in Downstate counties and other local jurisdictions lived outside of Cook County.

Tiny Hardin County (population 4,800) in Southeastern Illinois along the Wabash River voted almost 59% “No.” Hardin is one of Illinois’ poorer counties, but it voters apparently don’t like it when someone wants to raise their taxes.

82% of Cook County residents (72% in suburban Cook County) made their “income envy” known.

Just thought you’d like to know.

I remember when I was following the quality of real estate assessments more closely that a margin of error of 10% for an assessor in Illinois was excellent.

Algonquin Township Assessor Bob Kunz, first elected in 1977, consistently did that well.

Even with a margin of error of 10%, however, people’s assessments could vary enough that would result in loud disagreements at the checkout counter if sales taxes were administered the same way.

Think of a sales tax rate of 5%. (I know that’s history, but the number for the example work better than with Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley’s 75% city sales tax hike included.)

If there were a margin of error of 10% that means three people standing in line buying $100 worth of stuff could pay sales taxes of

4.5%
5.0% or
5.5%

That would be OK with the tax man because he would get $15, the same he would if everyone paid 5%.

Let’s play the same game with a $1,000 property tax bill. (Does anyone have one that “low” today?)

With a 10% margin of error and people with the same valued home, the first would pay $900, the second $1,000 and the third $1,100.

That’s how bad a good assessor distributes the property tax burden.

While Algonquin Township’s long-time Assessor Bob Kunz is still in the 10% range (10.24% margin or error in the latest year–2006–for which statistics are available), I see two others did a better job.

Bill Ottley, Grafton Township Assessor, had the lowest margin of error in McHenry County—6.84%.

Behind was Dorr Township Assessor Kelli Myers was at 9.82%.

The margins of error of the other township assessors were all under 17%.

Quite an improvement over what I remember from the 1970′s.

You may think that McHenry County’s average margin of error of 11.14% is too high, but how would you like to live in a county with a margin of error over 40%?

You could if you lived in the following counties:

• Clay – 46%
• Fayette – 40%
• Franklin – 43%
• Greene – 48%
• Hardin – 101%
• Lawrence – 42%
• Marshall – 53%
• Montgomery – 43%
• Pope – 54%
• Scott – 44%
• Wayne – 43%
• White – 46%

I remember when I was following the quality of real estate assessments more closely that a margin of error of 10% for an assessor in Illinois was excellent.

Algonquin Township Assessor Bob Kunz, first elected in 1977, consistently did that well.

Even with a margin of error of 10%, however, people’s assessments could vary enough that would result in loud disagreements at the checkout counter if sales taxes were administered the same way.

Think of a sales tax rate of 5%. (I know that’s history, but the number for the example work better than with Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley’s 75% city sales tax hike included.)

If there were a margin of error of 10% that means three people standing in line buying $100 worth of stuff could pay sales taxes of

4.5%
5.0% or
5.5%

That would be OK with the tax man because he would get $15, the same he would if everyone paid 5%.

Let’s play the same game with a $1,000 property tax bill. (Does anyone have one that “low” today?)

With a 10% margin of error and people with the same valued home, the first would pay $900, the second $1,000 and the third $1,100.

That’s how bad a good assessor distributes the property tax burden.

While Algonquin Township’s long-time Assessor Bob Kunz is still in the 10% range (10.24% margin or error in the latest year–2006–for which statistics are available), I see two others did a better job.

Bill Ottley, Grafton Township Assessor, had the lowest margin of error in McHenry County—6.84%.

Behind was Dorr Township Assessor Kelli Myers was at 9.82%.

The margins of error of the other township assessors were all under 17%.

Quite an improvement over what I remember from the 1970′s.

You may think that McHenry County’s average margin of error of 11.14% is too high, but how would you like to live in a county with a margin of error over 40%?

You could if you lived in the following counties:

• Clay – 46%
• Fayette – 40%
• Franklin – 43%
• Greene – 48%
• Hardin – 101%
• Lawrence – 42%
• Marshall – 53%
• Montgomery – 43%
• Pope – 54%
• Scott – 44%
• Wayne – 43%
• White – 46%