Sangamon Sun

With property tax installment deadlines approaching across the 95th district, State Representative Mike Coffey (R-Springfield) has criticized the Supermajority Democrats in Springfield for recent tax shifts, hikes, and mandates that are expected to increase property taxes across Illinois communities.

“Hard-working families in Illinois deserve property tax relief but the Supermajority party is driving up costs with their approach to policymaking,” said Rep. Coffey. “Rising property taxes drive families to other states to save money and I think we need to take a hard look into how we can lower property taxes and still maintain general revenue for state projects.”

According to a Wallet Hub study released in February 2024, Illinois has the second-highest property tax burden in the country, with a statewide 2.23% property tax rate when all 102 counties are combined.

The facts indicate that Illinoisans face one of the highest overall tax burdens due largely to high property tax rates. Despite this, as families struggle financially, the majority party has not addressed high property taxes. Instead, they have focused on adding social programs to General Revenue liabilities while failing to properly fund education and local governments as promised in the 1970 Illinois constitution.

Numerous proposals supported by Rep. Coffey aim to freeze, suspend, or reduce various taxes throughout this General Assembly session. However, Democrats have refused to call these tax relief proposals for a vote and instead opted for nearly $1 billion in new tax hikes in the State Budget while shifting some of these burdens onto local governments at the end of the Spring Session.

Included among Rep. Coffey's supported measures are:

- HB1274: Increases the Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption from $5,000 to $8,000.

- HB3538: No longer requires disabled veterans to submit an annual application for the homestead exemption.

- HB4716: Limits any change in assessment resulting from reassessment in the general assessment year to either 3% of assessed value or change in Consumer Price Index during that year.

- HB4354: Caps increases in total homeowners' year-to-year property tax bills at no more than 5%, unless substantial home improvements were made.

“To move our state in the right direction, we must have fiscal responsibility, public policies that benefit residents, and lower taxes for individuals, families, and employers,” continued Coffey. “The over-taxation on residents and businesses to fund state programs hurts possible economic growth for the 95th District and Illinois.”

Rep. Coffey emphasized that people need immediate relief from high property taxes which they are not receiving from Supermajority Democrats who recently broke House Rules to hike taxes on Illinoisans again.

For more information contact Rep. Coffey’s office at 217-782-0053 or coffey@ilhousegop.org.

Representative Mike Coffey serves constituents of Illinois’ 95th House District including parts of Sangamon County such as portions of Springfield and Villages of Chatham and Rochester as well as parts of Macon and Christian Counties.