Bill W.: Going on social security, that’s going to be a heavy burden.

Bill owns a 1,684 square foot Lombard home that is currently assessed at $237,870.

Bill took possession of the home in 1986 when it was worth around $97,000, or $223,158.41 in today’s dollars. He has paid $85,005.68 in property taxes since 2000, around 87 percent of the original value of his home.

“Every time I turn around, it goes up,” Bill said.

Bill is currently paying $6,224.68 per year in property taxes on his home, about 2.7 percent of the DuPage County Assessor claimed value of $237,870.

Bill is currently paying $6,224.68 per year in property taxes on his home, about 2.7 percent of the DuPage County Assessor claimed value of $237,870.

“It’s ridiculous,” Bill said. “We shouldn’t have to pay $6,000 a year. Going on social security, that’s going to be a heavy burden. My wife and I would eventually consider moving out of state. It’s a consideration on the back of our mind. I’ve started a business so that’s what is keeping me. If that doesn’t go as well as I anticipated, then we’ll definitely out of here.”

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.

“They need to reduce the real estate tax down to one percent like most states,” Bill said. “Because if that’s the case, we’d be paying $2,700 annually. It would be about 200 a month versus whatever it is now.”

If Bill lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $2,378.70 per year or $3845.98 less than what he currently pays in Illinois.

“What we’re doing basically [with our property tax money] is paying for the unions,“ Bill said. “They have exorbitant retirement funds while the rest of us are retiring with social security.”

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