Bill Text: IL SR1598 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: States that each unit of Government that receives property taxes should, during a regularly scheduled or a special meeting with proper public notice, conduct a public forum to discuss the specific effects of a property tax freeze for 1, 2, 5 years and permanently.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-05-31 - Resolution Adopted [SR1598 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SR1598-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Property taxes are a form of local taxation by | ||||||
| 3 | taxing bodies such as school districts, municipalities, park | ||||||
| 4 | districts, library boards, and other such units of local | ||||||
| 5 | government; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, No property tax dollars are paid to the state | ||||||
| 7 | government; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, | ||||||
| 9 | about 62 percent of property tax bills go to funding school | ||||||
| 10 | districts in Illinois; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Property taxes also fund police and fire | ||||||
| 12 | protection services, as well as park district programs and | ||||||
| 13 | local projects; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The state legislature can pass laws freezing | ||||||
| 15 | property tax rates, but such a one-size-fits-all legislation | ||||||
| 16 | may unjustly hurt some local communities while leaving some | ||||||
| 17 | units of government with the excessive surpluses; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, A property tax freeze applies to the total | ||||||
| 19 | property taxes collected by taxing districts, but does not mean | ||||||
| 20 | the property taxes paid by an individual homeowner will be | ||||||
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| 1 | frozen; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, A property tax freeze leaves municipalities, | ||||||
| 3 | school districts, police services, fire protection services, | ||||||
| 4 | and other local government units without a means to collect | ||||||
| 5 | additional revenue lost due to the freeze; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, These units of local governments, when facing | ||||||
| 7 | increasing expenses during a property tax freeze, will be | ||||||
| 8 | forced to implement cost-cutting measures, such as reducing the | ||||||
| 9 | teaching staff and police force and eliminating programs; | ||||||
| 10 | therefore, be it
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| 11 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 12 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that by July 1, 2019, each | ||||||
| 13 | unit of Government that receives property taxes should, during | ||||||
| 14 | a regularly scheduled or special meeting with proper public | ||||||
| 15 | notice, conduct a public forum to discuss the specific effects | ||||||
| 16 | of a permanent property tax freeze or a property tax freeze for | ||||||
| 17 | one, two, or five years; and be it further
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| 18 | RESOLVED, That each unit of government should make every | ||||||
| 19 | effort to fully provide projections of both revenue and | ||||||
| 20 | expenses with a correlating analysis of services and personnel | ||||||
| 21 | that would likely be impacted in order for the public to more | ||||||
| 22 | fully appreciate the effects of a property tax freeze on each | ||||||
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| 1 | taxing body.
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