Susan D.: “The system is so corrupt and the people who work for the system have no desire to fix it.”

Susan D. owns a 1,411 square foot, 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom Mount Prospect home that is currently assessed at $335,840.

“The system is absurd,” Susan said. “The things they do in Cook County are so absurd and the mistakes are so incredible.”

Susan took possession of the home in 1999. She has paid $99,452 in property taxes since 1999.

"Everyone I know wants to move out of Illinois because of the taxes and they’re not getting better—they’re getting worse and it’s all because of these insane pensions,” Susan said.

"Everyone I know wants to move out of Illinois because of the taxes and they’re not getting better—they’re getting worse and it’s all because of these insane pensions,” Susan said.

Susan is currently paying $4,824 per year in property taxes on her home, about 1.4 percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $335,840.

“The system is so corrupt and the people who work for the system have no desire to fix it,” Susan said.

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.

“Not only do I support a 1 percent cap, but I think we need a grassroots movement where we only give them 1 percent and we tell them ‘here is one percent and it’s all we’re going to give you,’” Susan said.

If Susan lived in Indiana the most she could be charged in property taxes would be $3,358 per year or $1,466 less than what she currently pays in Illinois.

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