Judging from the outcry, the little envelopes mailed last month from the Cook County assessor to many north- and northwest-side residents may spark a revolution. They contained the results of the quadrennial reassessment, which show that the sales values of north- and northwest-side properties have soared by as much as 1,000 percent since 1984. That means property owners can expect a healthy rise in the amount of property tax they’ll have to pay when the bills are mailed next summer.
“We’re putting together an alliance of business and home owners in the area,” said chamber president Ferd Isserman. “That’s an alliance we’ve never really had in this area before. It’s a combination no politician can easily ignore.”
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Despite the sincerity of Isserman and other chamber members, it’s hard to feel sorry for some of the protesters, particularly those who act as though the property tax is a burden they alone must bear. (In contrast, south-side property owners, whose reassessments last year provided enough new revenue to prevent a citywide rate hike, accepted their reassessments with a lot less bellyaching.) Some of the loudest blubberers are developers who, having made enormous profits as a result of local, state, and federal subsidies, complain that government doesn’t do enough for them. They’re also inconsistent. They brag about having transformed the north side from a slum, and then whine that their property’s been overassessed. Without a trace of shame, they argue that rising real estate prices may “drive them from the community”–a complaint the same people scorn when it’s advanced by factory owners or low-income housing activists. No doubt many of them voted for Ronald Reagan, whose federal tax policies have severely aggravated the city’s dependency on the property tax.
And the equalization factor?
Of course, such prices do not reflect the income level of all residents in the neighborhood. Many old-timers bought their property years ago when it was much less expensive. They probably could not afford to buy their homes at the prices they would command today. In a sense, their property is an illusory source of wealth. It offers them no added income, and yet they are expected to pay higher taxes. If taxes go higher, they may have no choice but to sell.
Vanecko acknowledges that his office sometimes makes mistakes. But residents who feel overassessed can appeal to the assessor of the Cook County Board of (Tax) Appeals.
In the past eight years, the Reagan administration has slashed federal housing, welfare, education, and revenue-sharing programs. Moreover, President Reagan, as well as president-elect George Bush, won the support of a majority of voters (including, no doubt, many on the north and northwest sides) by vowing to resist any hike in the income tax, which is the most progressive of all taxes because it is levied according to one’s ability to pay. Cities and towns have attempted to fill the void with a host of so-called user fees, like taxes on cigarettes. But more and more they must rely on the property tax. About $8 billion is raised in Illinois each year by the property tax, says Quinn, a greater yield than the sales and income taxes combined.
