Dan Y.: It pays for corrupt promises for years. It’s sick

Dan and his wife Therese own a 2,288 square foot, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath Elgin home that is currently assessed at $250,989.

Dan took possession of the home in 2014 when it was worth around $303,500, or $323,255.91 in today’s dollars. He has paid $19,453.10 in property taxes since 2014, around eight percent of the current value of their home.

“I’ve lived in Illinois my entire life,” Dan said. “I’ve never had any thoughts to leaving until the last several years, paying attention to things. My wife has a corporate office that’s in Georgia and the subject has come up because I don’t know how we’ll be able to retire here. I’ve never considered it ever but now, I would leave in a heartbeat.”

Dan is currently paying $546 per month in property taxes on their home, about two percent of the Kane County Assessor claimed value of $250,989.

Dan is currently paying $546 per month in property taxes on their home, about two percent of the Kane County Assessor claimed value of $250,989.

“It wasteful, it’s political. You turn on the news and…it’s wasteful spending,” Dan said. “Pension funds are out of control. It’s pathetic. The state is in junk bond rating. They bail out teacher and firefighter’s pension fund off the back of all of us. It doesn’t go towards better services or better local schools. It pays for corrupt promises for years. It’s sick.”

Indiana has a hard 1 percent cap on property taxes. This means local governments are not allowed under state law to charge homeowner’s more than 1 percent of their home’s assessed value per year. The average property tax rate for the state of Indiana is 0.89 percent. Meanwhile the average property tax rate in Illinois is 2.3 percent.

If Dan lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $2,509.89 per year or $4,044.33 less than what she currently pays in Illinois.

“Sure works there (in Indiana),” Dan said. “They still have fire departments. They still have police. They still have all the services we have here. I’d be all for it.”