Russ H.: I’m absolutely considering [moving].

Russ H. owns a 2,800 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom Swansea home that is currently assessed at $244,050.

“I’m absolutely considering [moving],” Russ said.

Russ took possession of the home in 2014 when it was worth around $260,000, or $277,246 in today’s dollars. He has paid $20,280 in property taxes since 2014, more than 7.8 percent of the original value of his home.

“We’re not seeing property values staying at a higher level,” Russ said. “They’re not increasing at the same rate as the taxes are.”

“We’re not seeing property values staying at a higher level,” Russ said. “They’re not increasing at the same rate as the taxes are.”

Russ is currently paying $5,593 per year in property taxes on his home, about 2.2 percent of the St. Clair County Assessor claimed value of $244,050.

“I’m not seeing anything positive,” Russ said. “We’re misappropriating funds across the board.”

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 we’re going to have obscenely high tax rates then the government should put that toward stuff to make a difference and that’s not happening,” Russ said.

If Russ lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $2,440 per year or $3,153 less than what he currently pays in Illinois.

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