Phyllis C.: You can’t plan for the future if your property taxes are going up at such a fast rate.

Phyllis C. owns an 891 square foot Mundelein home that is currently assessed at $168,315.

“Our property taxes keep going up but we’re not getting more services,” Phyllis said. “It’s going to the pensions.”

Phyllis took possession of the home in 1999 when it was worth around $99,333, or $150,513 in today’s dollars. She has paid $75,333 in property taxes since 2000, more than 75 percent of the original value of her home.

“All of my utilities together each month are less than what my property tax bill is each month, and that was eye-opening to me,” Phyllis said.

“All of my utilities together each month are less than what my property tax bill is each month, and that was eye-opening to me,” Phyllis said.

Phyllis is currently paying $5,222 per year in property taxes on her home, about 3.1 percent of the Lake County Assessor claimed value of $168,315.

“We want to downsize, but we’re concerned about downsizing in Illinois,” Phyllis said. “We are uncertain about how the state is going to end up.”

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 think it’s criminal. There is so much corruption in Illinois,” Phyllis said. “We have no idea what’s going to happen and how can you plan if you don’t know? You can’t plan for the future if your property taxes are going up at such a fast rate.”

If Phyllis lived in Indiana the most she could be charged in property taxes would be $1,683 per year or $3,539 less than what she currently pays in Illinois.

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