Jeff H.: We’re wanting to start looking and leave in a year or two.

Jeff H. owns a 1,586 square foot Glen Ellyn home that is currently assessed at $237,450.

Jeff took possession of the home in 1984 when it was worth around $73,000, or $177,363 in today’s dollars. He has paid $81,918 in property taxes since 2000, more than 112 percent of the original value of his home.

“We’re wanting to start looking and leave in a year or two,” Jeff said.

Jeff is currently paying $5,069 per year in property taxes on his home, about 2.1 percent of the DuPage County Assessor claimed value of $237,450.

Jeff is currently paying $5,069 per year in property taxes on his home, about 2.1 percent of the DuPage County Assessor claimed value of $237,450.

“Our taxes are being spent horribly,” Jeff said. 

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 need to redo how they’re doing pensions,” Jeff said. “They say they can’t change it because it’s in the Constitution, but yet JB Pritzker wants to add a progressive tax?”

If Jeff lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $2,374 per year or $2,695 less than what he currently pays in Illinois.

“A one percent hard cap would be great. It would probably cut my taxes in half,” Jeff said. 

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