Tony S.: “We’ve been lied to as taxpayers.”

Tony S. owns a 2,008 square foot, 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom Park Ridge home that is currently assessed at $449,770.

“We’ve been lied to as taxpayers,” Tony said. “They’ve been doing this behind the scenes and Illinois taxpayers have been abused. This is crazy. Something needs to be done.”

Tony took possession of the home in 2002 when it was worth around $475,000, or $665,755 in today’s dollars. He has paid $171,169 in property taxes since 2002, more than 36 percent of the original value of his home.

“I moved to Park Ridge in 2002,” Tony said. “My property taxes were $9,113, which I thought was ridiculously high then. Last year, they were $13,388.”

“I moved to Park Ridge in 2002,” Tony said. “My property taxes were $9,113, which I thought was ridiculously high then. Last year, they were $13,388.”

Tony is currently paying $11,854 per year in property taxes on his home, about 2.6 percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $449,770.

“I can’t save for my retirement,” Tony said. “There’s not enough money for home maintenance. They’re basically stealing my home equity from me. This goes to Illinois’ corruption and overspending.”

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.

If Tony lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $4,497 per year or $7,357 less than what he currently pays in Illinois.

“If they capped property taxes at 1 percent of their home value, that would be really fair,” Tony said. “The taxpayers are the ones working for the money. Property taxes should be capped at 1 percent of home value. That will put these politicians in line—these arrogant politicians who think they have unlimited spending power with our money that we work for. Taxpayers are disillusioned in Illinois, it’s almost to the point that they’ve accepted it and they feel like powerless—that there is nothing we can do to fight corruption in Illinois. But, the thing is, there is something we can do, and it starts with awareness. They need to know there are options.”

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