As part of the $45 billion capital bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly in early June 2019, and pending the Governor’s signature, the State’s tax on cigarettes and e-cigarettes will increase starting on July 1. The State of Illinois tax on cigarettes will increase by $1.00 from $1.98 per pack of 20 cigarettes to $2.98 per pack. The State will also start imposing a new 15% tax on the sale of electronic cigarettes. These hikes are estimated to bring in $156 million for the State annually…
Cook County taxpayers have exceptionally long wait to correct tax mistakes (CHICAGO) – A Civic Federation analysis released today explores the history and repercussions of the significant accumulation of cases at the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB), which stood at 62,077 at the end of State fiscal year 2018. The backlog is primarily driven by a high volume of cases coming from Cook County, as well as insufficient resources and outdated operational practices at PTAB. The full report…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this report. AT A GLANCE This report explores the history and repercussions of the significant accumulation of cases at the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) and offers recommendations for improving operations at the Board. SUMMARY The Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) is one of two property tax appeal options available to property owners and taxing districts after a county’s Board of Review. While…
The Illinois Department of Revenue recently announced that the final equalization factor for the Cook County 2018 property assessment year (taxes payable in 2019) is 2.9109. Each year the Illinois Department of Revenue calculates equalization factors for every county in order to achieve uniform property assessment throughout the State. The 2018 final equalization factor of 2.9109 is less than the final 2017 equalization factor of 2.9627. This does not mean that individual property tax bills…
The following blog post discusses how the City of Chicago has used surplus revenue in its tax increment financing (TIF) districts since 2013. TIF is a powerful economic development tool for the City of Chicago, particularly at a time when capital and development funding from the State of Illinois and federal government has been scarce. One out of every four properties in the City is in a TIF district and in 2017 the City of Chicago collected over $660 million in TIF revenue, nearly one-third…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. SUMMARY Amid one of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history, the State of Illinois still faces daunting fiscal challenges. The list includes chronic operating deficits, a multi-billion dollar backlog of unpaid bills, crushing public pension costs and five consecutive years of population loss. Illinois has the lowest credit rating of any state and is ranked as one of the worst…
The Civic Federation supports Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s goals of a more accurate and transparent assessment system, as well as his goal of getting assessments right the first time, which will reduce the cost of appeals to taxpayers by reducing the number of appeals needed. Improved public confidence in property assessments would go a long way toward making the system as a whole more effective and equitable. Senate Bill 1379 and House Bill 2217 have been introduced in the 101st General…
A Civic Federation blog post last week raised questions about the revenue estimate attached to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax plan. After the post was published, the Governor’s Office released an explanation of the methodology used to arrive at the estimate. The new information shows how the plan could bring in $3.4 billion of additional revenue by raising effective tax rates on fewer than 3% of tax filers while lowering rates slightly for the remaining 97%. Key to this result…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this report. AT A GLANCE The Civic Federation released this report in advance of the April 2, 2019 Chicago municipal election for consideration by the public and candidates for Mayor, Treasurer, Aldermanic Office and the City Clerk. The report details the City of Chicago’s major financial challenges, as well as options and recommendations to stabilize the City’s financial position. SUMMARY In April 2019…
The following blog post explores the idea of a downtown congestion fee and the factors that would need to be considered if Chicago were to impose such a fee. The Civic Federation does not take a position on any type of congestion pricing or whether it should be implemented in Chicago. This blog post is intended for informational purposes only. According to the Federal Highway Administration, there are four types of congestion pricing strategies: Variably priced lanes: variable toll rates on…
