Lisa K.: It’s too expensive and I can’t afford it anymore.

Lisa K. owns a 2895 square foot Downers Grove home that is currently assessed at $666,270.

Lisa took possession of the home in 2005 when it was worth around $565,000, or $729,454 in today’s dollars. She has paid $126,890 in property taxes since 2005, more than 22 percent of the original value of her home.

“I have hired two realtors to come tell me what my house is worth,” Lisa said. “I can’t afford it. My husband is retiring and he’s going to take a pay cut of about 25 percent. That chunk of money from real estate taxes and income taxes will take up a greater amount of what we have to live off of.”

Lisa is currently paying $11,637 per year in property taxes on her home, about 1.7 percent of the DuPage County Assessor claimed value of $666,270.

Lisa is currently paying $11,637 per year in property taxes on her home, about 1.7 percent of the DuPage County Assessor claimed value of $666,270.

“What the sad thing about it is that they overpromised pension payments to people and lied to teachers,” Lisa said. “Their union leaders lied to them. The politicians are in cahoots with it. That’s the real problem in Illinois right now—it’s all based on the pension problem.”

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 could do to a 1 percent property tax cap like they have in Indiana,” Lisa said. “They could cut their own spending and figure it out. They need to have a Constitutional amendment to change the pension system in Illinois. We just can’t seem to get anywhere.”

If Lisa lived in Indiana the most she could be charged in property taxes would be $6,662 per year or $4,975 less than what she currently pays in Illinois.

“[The 1 percent hard cap] would definitely help,” Lisa said. “It would lower property taxes. It would be a game changer. It’s not because I hate where I live. It’s too expensive and I can’t afford it anymore.”

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