Karen R.: I think they need to stop giving unions whatever they want

Karen owns a 2,580-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom Crestwood home that is currently assessed at $229,680.

Karen took possession of the home in 2014. She has paid $28,991 in property taxes since 2014, more than 12 percent of the current value of her home.

“We’re not an affluent community,” Karen said. “We’re just a normal community. Orland Park is more affluent and all that and I can only imagine what their property taxes are. Ours are $6,000? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Karen is currently paying $6,576 per year in property taxes on her home, about 2.8 percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $229,680.

Karen is currently paying $6,576 per year in property taxes on her home, about 2.8 percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $229,680.

“It’s just aggravating that they’re taking all this money to bail out the teachers in Chicago,” Karen said. “I don’t belong in Chicago. I wish we could just leave Cook County.”

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.

“They got to do something with the property taxes,” Karen said. “I don’t have a solution to it but it has to change on how it’s funded.”

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 think they need to stop giving unions whatever they want,” Karen said. “That’s what’s causing a lot of the problem.”

If Karen lived in Indiana the most she could be charged in property taxes would be $2,296.80 per year or $4,279.20 less than what she currently pays in Illinois.

“I’ve got three kids,” Karen said. “Two of them left the state already. So half my family have left the state.”