Joseph R.: We’re being taxed right out of our home.

Joseph R. owns a 1,754 square foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom Worth home that is currently assessed at $304,990.

“I love my home and I really don’t want to move because my job is here, but with my payment going up $421 a month, that’s any money that I planned on saving or putting toward vacation or retirement,” Joseph said. 

Joseph took possession of the home in 2016 when it was worth around $290,000, or $304,667 in today’s dollars. He has paid $17,657 in property taxes since 2016, more than 6 percent of the original value of his home.

“We’re not getting anything extra,” Joseph said. “I’ve lived in this town for 10 years and I haven’t seen any improvement. The spending is out of control. I wish I knew what they were spending my money on. We’re not getting anything.”

“We’re not getting anything extra,” Joseph said. “I’ve lived in this town for 10 years and I haven’t seen any improvement. The spending is out of control. I wish I knew what they were spending my money on. We’re not getting anything.”

Joseph is currently paying $11,331 per year in property taxes on his home, about 3.7 percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $304,990.

“We weren’t expecting this,” Joseph said. “It just hit us [when our taxes doubled].  If I have to move, I’ll move. We’re being taxed right out of our home.”

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 Joseph lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $3,049 per year or $8,282 less than what he currently pays in Illinois.

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