Bob Z.: I just moved out of state because of my high property taxes.

Bob Z. owned a 3,236 square foot, 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom Riverside home that is currently assessed at $575,860.

“I just moved out of state because of my high property taxes,” Bob said. “It impacted our life so much that we had to figure out how to lower our expenses.”

Bob took possession of the home in 1990 when it was worth around $248,500, or $479,962 in today’s dollars. He paid $211,265 in property taxes since 1999, more than 85 percent of the original value of his home.

“Not well,” Bob said. “I think pension reform really needs to be addressed.”

“Not well,” Bob said. “I think pension reform really needs to be addressed.”

Bob is currently paying $17,919 per year in property taxes on his home, about 3.1 percent of the Cook County Assessor claimed value of $575,860.

“Illinois needs to be more efficient,” Bob 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.

Bob now lives in Indiana, where the most he could be charged in property taxes on the home he had in Illinois would be $5,758 per year or $12,161 less than what he paid in Illinois.

To share your story with us, please send an email including your full name, address, phone number and email address to news@saveyourhomenow.org.