Mary P.: I really like it here, but if they force my hands I’ll have to go.

Mary owns a 1,430 square foot, 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom Chicago home that is currently assessed at $348,130.

“They just keep going up and up and that means my mortgage goes up and up and that’s kind of hard,” Mary said. “It affects you a lot. You can’t do a lot of things because of the taxes and the mortgages. It’s just way too high and keeps on going.”

Mary took possession of the home in 1992. She has paid $88,577 in property taxes since 1999.

“I really like it here, but if they force my hands I’ll have to go,” Mary said.

“I really like it here, but if they force my hands I’ll have to go,” Mary said.

Mary is currently paying $4,331 per year in property taxes on her home, about 1.2 percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $348,130.

“They promise a lot of stuff and you don’t know who to believe or what they’re doing and you got to go along with the flow,” Mary said. “Will one voice help? I don’t know.”

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.

“I know a lot of my friends are moving out of here because they just can’t afford it,” Mary said. “They’re losing their homes because of it.”

If Mary lived in Indiana the most she could be charged in property taxes would be $3,481 per year or $850 less than what she currently pays in Illinois.

“This will cause people to leave,” Mary said. “They just keep hitting you with more bills. They don’t do anything for you.”

To share your story with us, please send an email including your full name, address, phone number and email address to news@saveyourhomenow.org.