In the State of Illinois, non-home rule units of government located in counties subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) are limited in the size of their annual property tax extension to 5% or the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less. However, the limitation is subject to some exceptions and can be increased by referendum. The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is asking taxpayers for a larger levy to pay for pensions and a large backlog of land…
In a position statement released yesterday, the Civic Federation announced it supports passage of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s (FPDCC) property tax extension limitation law (PTELL) referendum that will be on the November 8 election ballot for voters in Cook County. The referendum question asks Cook County voters whether the Forest Preserve District’s property tax limiting rate should by increased by 0.025% in property tax levy year 2022, to a total rate of 0.076% of the…
The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on September 22, 2022 to repeal the Wheel Tax as of June 30, 2023. The Wheel Tax is an annual license fee authorizing the use of any motor vehicle within the unincorporated areas of Cook County. Areas of Cook County that are unincorporated are not part of a municipality and therefore municipal services to those areas, such as policing and building and zoning, are provided by the County. The Wheel Tax is collected from residents of…
The Commission on Governmental Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) has released a new report on gaming in Illinois. The report provides a comprehensive look at all forms of legally sanctioned wagering in the state, including casino gambling, horse racing, video gaming, the Lottery and now sports betting. In FY2022, the State of Illinois collected nearly $1.9 billion in total gaming revenues.[1] The single largest gaming revenue source was the Lottery, which generated $833 million, 44.2% of…
It is conventional wisdom that taxpayers in Illinois pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation. That assertion is borne out in a report released last week by the Tax Foundation. The Foundation’s report provides a county-by-county and state-by-state context for evaluating property tax burden across the United States. Local governments in Illinois rely on the property tax to fund everything from debt to pensions to day-to-day expenses. In tax year 2020 total property tax extensions for…
On June 23, 2022, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued a preliminary budget forecast for fiscal year 2023. The fiscal year begins December 1, 2022 and ends November 30, 2023. The report provides end-of-year estimates for the current 2022 fiscal year and a forecast for the upcoming 2023 fiscal year in the County’s operating funds. The operating funds include the General Fund, which accounts for administrative and public safety operations, and the Health Fund, which accounts for…
Bring Chicago Home, a grassroots coalition dedicated to securing an earmarked revenue stream to combat homelessness, has launched a campaign to put a referendum on the City of Chicago ballot asking voters to approve an increase in the Chicago real estate transfer tax (RETT) for high-end properties selling for over $1 million. Properties valued at less than $1 million would continue to be taxed at current rates. Changes to the current tax must be approved by voters in a referendum or through a…
Click here for a PDF of this issue brief. This post presents information on residential and commercial effective property tax rates in south Cook County municipalities in tax years 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2019. These 84 municipalities are all located in the South Cook County Assessment Triad.[1] The report also compares these effective tax rates to those for the City of Chicago in these selected years. Effective property tax rates are a measure of property tax burden for…
Click here to read this issue brief online. SUMMARY This annual report lists and describes selected consumer taxes within the City of Chicago. For ease of use by non-specialists, the taxes in this report are grouped under the following categories: sales taxes, tobacco and nicotine-related taxes, beverage-related taxes, utility-related taxes, accommodations-related taxes, transportation-related taxes and other taxes. It is important to note for tax professionals that the groupings are not…
The Illinois Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) limits the growth of a taxing district’s property tax levy to 5.0% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.[1] Taxing bodies annually can choose to increase the amount of property tax dollars they seek (the “levy”) up to the PTELL limit, to a lesser amount, or they can forego an increase.[2] The PTELL law applies to all non-home rule jurisdictions, including counties, municipalities and special districts in 39 of the state’s…
