Art H.: Property taxes were a lot of why we moved.

Art H. owned a 1,800 square foot, 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom Seneca home that is currently assessed at $141,141.

“Property taxes were a lot of why we moved,” Art said. “Also because of the taxes that are coming up in the future. I retired in 2008 and we were on fixed income ever since. Every year it was just more and more coming out of that.”

Art took possession of the home in 1995 when it was worth around $138,000, or $228,586 in today’s dollars. He sold the home earlier this year for $211,000. He paid $9,953 in property taxes from 2012 until 2017, more than 7.2 percent of the original value of his former home.

“[Taxes are spent] poorly,” Art said. “Illinois is circling the drain, but it can’t go down the drain because states can’t file for bankruptcy. Illinois is totally broke. It’s ridiculous. They have got to reduce spending and get the pension programs under control.”

“[Taxes are spent] poorly,” Art said. “Illinois is circling the drain, but it can’t go down the drain because states can’t file for bankruptcy. Illinois is totally broke. It’s ridiculous. They have got to reduce spending and get the pension programs under control.”

Art paid $2,490 per year in property taxes on his home, about 1.7 percent of the LaSalle County Assessor claimed value of $141,141.

“Sure [a tax cap] would help, but no one is going to vote for it because they will take away services,” Art said. “Illinois is a lost cause. I don’t see how it could possibly recover. Every year, Illinois is taking a net loss on people living there.”

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 Art lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $1,411 per year or $1,079 less than what he paid in Illinois.

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