Tom K.: I don’t understand how that is my fault

Tom owns a 1,137 square foot, four-bedroom, two-bath Midlothian home that is currently assessed at $132,150.

Tom took possession of the home in 2011. He has paid $28,779 in property taxes since 2011, more than 21 percent of the current appraised value of the home.

“If I can keep more of my money…I got a home that always need improvement and things to be taken care of, I’ve got four children that I love to buy things for…It’s not like I would be hoarding my and not giving it to the government in some fashion, right? Or putting it into other people’s pockets. That money would go towards individuals and businesses.”

Tom is currently paying $337 per month in property taxes on his home, about three percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $132,150.

Tom is currently paying $337 per month in property taxes on his home, about three percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $132,150.

“What’s the solution? I don’t know,” Tom said. “I know this: I don’t get a pay raise every year but I know that the teacher’s union is not the only one guilty of giving themselves a pay raise every year. I’m a small business so sometimes I take less money. I have a unique perspective on this. I can see both sides to the story.”

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.

“If I can keep more of my money…I got a home that always need improvement and things to be taken care of, I’ve got four children that I love to buy things for…It’s not like I would be hoarding my and not giving it to the government in some fashion, right? Or putting it into other people’s pockets,” Tom said. “That money would go towards individuals and businesses.”

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.


“I would like to see [property taxes] not go up,” Tom said. “I mean if they are spending on the kids [schools], I guess, then sometimes it feels like its worth it but on the other hand it’s a little hard to prove because it’s so complicated. You sit down and tell somebody that the prices have to up because we don’t have the money we promised to pay [the pensions] because we spent it…I don’t understand how that is my fault.”

If Tom lived in Indiana the most she could be charged in property taxes would be $1,321.50 per year or $2,732.50 less than what he currently pays in Illinois.

“You work harder for your money, you don’t need to be taxed more,” Tom said.